MASTER OF NONE

by Kideo11

Everyone has a system they just need to meet hidden conditions to unlock it. A blacksmith system may unlock after a human walks by a forge. A master mage may unlock a system after attempting to control the mana in their body. Even something as simple as kicking a rock at a bucket can unlock the marksman system a unique system allowing for perfect accuracy. But what happens when som

Everyone is born with a system. Well technically, they just needs to unlock it. Sounds simple right? But not really. The system a human unlocks can be anything. Someone can unlock their blacksmith system just by walking by a forge where others need to create their very first weapon before it unlocks. Some people unlock a masters system that will take them to soaring heights that allow them to learn mastery skills. Others unlock unique systems such as magical smith which is the same as a blacksmith but they can create magical items. The only catch is that if a human hasn't run in to the proper conditions to unlock their system by the age of fifteen then that's it, it's all over. Their potential to unlock a system is gone and they become an average human with no potential to level up and grow. They fall to the lowest class lucky even to make twenty gold a day when bread could cost a whole one of those.

Now it may be a rare case but for Walker, it's becoming a closer and closer reality, Walker Will turn fifteen tomorrow. Well more specifically in 13 hours or at least that's what's left on the system countdown every human gets until they either unlock or lose their system. See his father Garret has a unique system. It's not as good as a master but he has an Elite Guard System. This helps him patrol the capital city Diamond, its in the Crystal kingdom named for the first ever King Roman Crystal many years ago. Thanks to his father's job Walker has been able to meet many various people in a day, giving more than enough chances to try unlocking his system.

The world has uncountable types of systems some even spanning to other worlds or universes. But here there are a few notable races that call systems a blessing of the world. The elves of the forests pride nature and magic. The dwarves of the mountains hide away only caring for crafting and mining. Demi humans are tied to their distinguishing features unlocking related systems. Demons hold more nefarious destructive magic powers often causing trouble with any system. Ancient dragon like monsters have systems related to their species, often leveling and becoming much stronger more easily. Angels, Merfolk, and other various species scattered through the world have their own challenges and strengths.

The only thing that's certain is that when it comes to systems, you either do anything and everything you can to unlock it or you lose the chance forever.

Walker often chooses to follow his father to the gate so He can meet people passing in and out of the city. The massive walls protect them from the fields and forests full of monsters on the outside. Some of which smell and goblins smell the worst. The iron gate is always open to merchants, adventurers, explorers, and even royalty! 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

Some of the notable people He'd met have been an older man with a unique system called Spice Trader which allowed him to procure and sell plants he turned in to spices. The aromatic scent of his cart could be smelled for many houses away. However upon trying to bargain with him for some tree bark he called cinnamon Walker quickly found no change In his system. He guessed he won't be a spice trader or a merchant.

Walker had the luck to meet many adventurers as they left on morning quests or training. Always rushing to a magic user when He saw them because the many types of magic in the world could not be counted. The elemental Magic was great for defense and attack but the unique Magic such as spatial magic or healing could lead to a wondrous life. Unfortunately, he had met over twenty three different magic users, and no spell that he had tried worked. Maybe I'll try the church was one of his next thoughts, there was a woman who unlocked a Master Oracle System, and it was said she could see up to ten whole years in the future! These thoughts were always running through his mind.

He was even lucky enough to meet someone with a Tamer System once. They preferred to tame sonic bats which were small creatures about the size of someone's head that could confuse and disorient enemies with sound. The tamer even let Walker try and tame one of the baby bats which were as small as his pinky finger. Yet to no avail again there was no magical sounds or reaction from the system.

Garret often told Walker the story of how he had been a child walking along and witnessed other kids his age throwing rocks at a stray dog. When he threw himself in front of it and yelled for them to stop he felt power well within him and his system gave a ding. 'You have reached the requirements. The Elite Guard System has become active. Congratulations.' That was some years ago but now after rigorous training and a strong will, he's pushed himself to level 30 through his system quests and leadership as an elite guardsman. He perfectly fit this role, he was tall, had brown hair just like Walker, and was very muscular. His stern features really scared the hooligans who tried to run amok on the streets.

Garret

Elite Guard System

Level 30

Exp. until next level 10,737,418,240

Hp-75

Def-77

Mdef-77

Atk- 45

Matk-35

Charisma (char)-32

Agi-37

Mana- 35

"You shall carry the weight of the law as the defender of the weak. Those in danger shall find your shield and those causing strife shall find your blade"

By far garret was one of the strongest around the outer walls and even ranked highly in the inner city. The only problem was that after you get to a level the exp needed doubles making it harder and harder to grow and gain skill points to distribute to your stats. However the fact that every single thing related to a person's system gained them exp really helped. Not to mention the quests given by the system to guide and allow proper development of skills. Some quests are daily, others could take a lifetime; one never knows until they get their system. Not to mention the experience rewards could vary wildly depending on difficulty.

Normally Walker would spend all day running around by the gates trying to find new people with new systems to meet. But today his mother Hilda had promised him one of her famous apple turnovers. Walker's mother was lucky enough to get the Baking System. To the average person that would sound pretty lame. However once someone tasted her food and experienced the special effects they would be hooked for life. The pastries she cooked could recover fatigue, mana, and even hp depending on ingredients. She once made the mistake of giving his little sister Lisa a cookie that increased agility, temporarily causing Lisa to run around the kitchen table until she got dizzy.

Due to these skills she received a decent amount of business from low tier adventurers. Some of the longer quests they took required her signature no stale bread!

Walking back home to a small one family house just off the street from the market was always a tough time for Walker. It signifies another day without a system. Hilda who just like Walker had brown hair but hers was always shoulder length ponytail, and clever green eyes; was average height and very slender and fast looking. This was because she needed to be smaller and faster when cooking. The feeling of warmth from her smile always cheered walker up though;

Hilda

The Baker System

Level 15

Exp until next level 327,680

Hp-40

Def-30 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎

Mdef-20

Atk- 20

Matk-20

Char-41

Agi-25

Mana-20

"Your cooking shall always imbue special qualities. The better the ingredient the better the dish! Food is love."

...

"Garet, Walker! Hurry up and get inside. I just finished dinner, I swear if you let it get cold there will be no birthday cake for you tomorrow" shouted Hilda with a slight smile.

Their home may not have been large being in the lower class area but it was always filled with the lovely scents of cooking. Sitting down to their meal Lisa ran to steal the seat next to Walker as always.

Lisa; Walker's little sister was only 8 years old but had been lucky enough to discover her system early in life. She matched Walker with her brown hair and green eyes but her hair was kept short just below her ears. She was short and slender giving the impression she could jump past you at any minute. Lisa had always adored her older brother constantly wanting to be the first person to see what his system would be.

Lisa's system however was one of chance encounters, her favorite dress had ripped after getting caught on a corner and as a six year old her only reaction was to cry to Walker and their mother to fix it. Luckily Hilda had grown up with their neighbor who had unlocked the Tailor system. A quick knock on the door and short conversation lead to them sitting and watching the dress be quickly sewn and patched.

Lisa had suddenly asked to try however, this was a normal thing for children since everyone wanted to find their system, so there was no problem in allowing her the attempt. Miraculously as soon as her finger touched the needle a ding responded and Lisa jumped in surprise.

Lisa

The Seamstress System

Level 5

Exp to next level 320

Hp-14

Def-13

Mdef- 6

Atk- 12

Matk-6

Char- 10

Agi- 13

"Measurements shall come to you at a glance. The right material to create elegance is second nature. The balance between practicality and beauty is your art."

...

That's the short and sweet of how Lisa gained her system at such a young age. Since then Walker had been bombarded constantly with "what did you do today brother!" "Did you unlock it yet" "what will you try tomorrow?". Endless questions that continued even now at the dinner table.

"Walker, how long is left?" Inquired Hilda.

" I spent ten whole hours with Father today trying to find something that leaves me with three hours left. I even tried sneaking up behind him while he was distracted, trying for a rogue or hunter system." Replied walker

"I know it's tough honey, I've introduced you to everyone I know, the butcher, the carpenter, the toy maker, and even a cart driver. With your last few hours try whatever you can, don't worry about going to sleep on time" Hilda's voice reassured with a slight sense of worry. "But you Lisa I know you've been slacking on fixing that hole in your hooded robe and if it isn't fixed before you go to bed there will not be any breakfast for you!" The stern motherly gaze pierced Lisa who quickly cleaned her plate and rushed to the bedroom to grab her sewing needles.

"I'll help clean the table and dishes, maybe I'll unlock a master cleaning system." Joked Walker. With that Garet went to clean himself after work and Hilda returned to the kitchen to prepare for tomorrow's usual customers.

No one can say cleaning is the most fun thing ever but if that's how Walker unlocked his system maybe it's worth it. Walker constantly thought this way. Maybe I'll try this, could be this, how about just one shot at this. He had tried easily over a thousand different things in his fifteen years. With two hours left I'll try some attack actions. Maybe I can still be an adventurer and travel! Walker thought to himself. The comical scene of Walker jumping around the kitchen with a butter knife was not an uncommon one for children but still held a sense of stress now that less than two hours remained.

"Ahhhh!" A high pitched scream echoed from Lisa's bedroom followed by fast footsteps.

"Walker! Walker! Walker! I poked myself with my needle, fix it it's huurrttts." Begged Lisa with small tears in her eyes. Walker had become used to this the past two years as his sister always ran to him when she had slipped while sewing. He was always able to bandage her up and quell the small tears that burdened her.

"You know I saw a healer the other day use a spell called light heal, want me to give it a try?" Walker asked knowing the possibility of trying something new would distract Lisa from her pin prick pain.

Knowing he was still level zero and had no system he had no hope it would work. The stats of a level zero were sad to say the least and all that he could do was watch the timer countdown.

Walker

System: none

Countdown: 01:17:30 remaining

Level 0

Exp until next level- 10

Hp- 5

Def- 2

Mdef- 2

Atk- 1 𝓫𝓮𝒹𝓷ℴ𝓿ℯ𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶

Matk- 1

Char- 2

Agi- 3

Mana- 5

...

Knowing he would probably just have to go grab a bandage he still placed his hands above his sister's small hand and copied the healer he had seen earlier. "Light heal!"Walker said firmly. However no green healing light was produced instead a resounding ding and a new message appeared.

'You have met the requirements, The Jack of All Trades System has been activated. Congratulations!'

Before Walker could even recover from the shock he was sent a new message.

'You have accessed a skill from The Healer System, light heal. Would you like to use skill- Light heal?'

"Yes!" Walker immediately said yes feeling his heart begin to rush. In that instance, he felt himself become filled with energy and consequently said "Light heal!" Green light glowed from his hands and the system immediately prompted;

'Light heal used. Target Lisa has been healed 1 hp.'

Lisa immediately jumped in shock staring at her brother in awe. Her brother had just healed her using his mana, something only someone with a system could accomplish.

" Mother, Father come quick come heeerrrreee! Walker is a healer! He's a healer!" Cried Lisa causing Garett and Hilda to rush in to the room seeing the fading green light from Walker's hands.

The pure joy on their faces could not be matched with words their son was a healer, a rare system that was valued in any tier of the city let alone outside.

After a moment Garett rushed to his son and grabbed him in a brutal bear hug "My son the healer!" He yelled while spinning Walker in excitement.

"I'm so proud of you," Hilda said with a tear slowly falling down her cheek. Years of stress and worry falling from her shoulders now that she knew her son would be able to live a full life.

"Wait.. ack...father stop! I can't breathe! Put me down, I'm not a healer, I can't read with you squishing me!" Walker finally was released. He was breathing a bit heavy from being squished, also out of excitement.

"My system name is Jack of All Trades. I'm not sure what it means but it asked me if I wanted to learn and use the light heal skill so I said yes." I need to look in to this more, if I can heal why don't I have a healer system? This was the first question he asked himself. Walker began thinking and reading as his family watched, eventually, his gaze fell on to his new stats since he had finally after years been graced with his first level; level 1.

Walker

Jack of All Trades system

Level 1

Exp until next level- 20

Hp- 6

Def-3

Mdef-3

Atk-2

Matk-2

Char-3

Agi-4 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝑔

Mana-6

Points available for distribution- 5

"Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than a master of one"

...

'User has attempted to learn many skills unlocking the system. As such the user can use any skill, weapon, gear, tools, and items as long as they do not require mastery. Mastery level skills from other classes can not be learned.'

'Current skills:

Light heal-cost 1 mana

Heals up to 15hp to the target

...

Immediately walker fell into deep thought thinking to himself; what does this mean? I can't learn and master level skills but I can learn any other skill and use any gear or weapons or tools I want? Does this mean I can go anywhere and do anything? Can I be an adventurer and see the world?

'Passive skill learned from the Philosophers System- Critical thinking

Skill causes the user's thoughts to flow smoothly and allows reaching solutions faster than the average human'

I just gained a skill from thinking? ! And from a Philosophers system none the less! Wait does this mean I will get to earn exp from everything I do? The surprise he faced with these thoughts was plain to see on his face.

"Mother, father. I've decided, I want to travel the world and be an adventurer! My system lets me use any skills, gear, weapons, and even any tools! I can learn to take care of myself so I want to register and take the adventurer guild test tomorrow on my birthday! I may never get a mastery skill but I don't need them. I can earn experience and grow doing anything now, you won't have to worry and I can even help out more at home."

"A unique system..." Hilda whispered, "you unlocked a unique system." Her face was full of confusion and disbelief. Unique systems were uncommon but could mean anything.

"Are you sure?" Garret broke in. His face was serious. "You know it can be Incredibly dangerous out in the wild taking quests. If you can do anything it's safer to learn within the walls and complete your system quests to gain experience. Especially if you aren't limited to what you can do." Instead of being stunned, Garret immediately began pressing Walker, knowing that his son could learn rare skills and live an easy life without worry within the walls. He didn't want to see his son leave the walls only to come back hurt like the many he'd seen while on the job as a guard.

" I'm sure, I've always wanted to explore and because I can do anything is why I should become an adventurer! I can't even imagine what else I can learn while out exploring. Plus if I ever decide to retire I can start doing anything in the city, I won't have to worry about my future being ruined if I get injured or if I decide to stop exploring." The years of running around meeting so many people to try and unlock his system made him want to meet even more people. What other kinds of systems were there? Why can't I live the stories I've heard? Can I fight monsters like the high level adventurers who save whole villages? These questions flowed in his mind.

Garret immediately left the room, but quickly returned carrying a small leather shield. "This was my first shield, it might not be strong but to start it could save your life. I also want you to prove to me you can equip it!" Hilda watched and slowly came out of her shocked state grasping what Garett was thinking, she knew that if walker indeed could prove himself then they would not have to worry so much. They didn't distrust Walker but what if Walker had misunderstood his system and couldn't equip everything? It could spell his death outside the walls.

Walker grabbed the leather shield knowing that if he equipped an item that was not of his class its stats would be reduced to zero and had a high potential to break upon use. Instead, the system graced him with this message,

' Equipped with a small leather shield to the left arm. Def+2 agi-1'

Garret immediately let fly a soft open palm slap toward the shield. His hand made a loud thud upon the leather but the shield didn't budge and neither did Walker who had steeled himself behind it.

' skill perfect block has been taken from The Guardian System. Would you like to learn the skill perfect block?'

"Yes, learn skill perfect block." he exclaimed knowing he would need it in the future. 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

'Learned skill- perfect block

Cost-5 mana

As long as a shield is equipped can block an attack only allowing up to 5 points of damage through'

"Did you just say perfect block!" Garret questioned "Only guardians learn that skill, it's very costly to mana and very hard to learn. It's a high class skill, it may not be a master skill but it's as close as you can get for defense!" Garret started to step back looking as if he would fall over. His son had just learned a skill from something so small, was this really possible?!

The overwhelming feeling of tiredness had set in on Walker, he had only six mana and he'd just used his last five after his level up leaving him at zero. He quickly sat down as his mother rushed to his side to scold him. "You can't rush in to this you've already tired yourself out, if you're going to be so reckless I won't be teaching you to make my never stale bread before you leave to register in the morning!"

Walker smiled knowing with those words he had gained his mother's blessing as well, however as his eyes shifted to his sister he knew immediately that she was going to do everything within her power to keep him in the house come sunrise.

As sleep came easily walker was awakened by a new sound of a system message issuing his first ever daily quest,

' your dreams and desires have guided you to live the life of an adventurer.

Quest: register as an adventurer and pass the three tests to gain the first tier adventurer plaque of stone

Reward:

5exp, party skill'

Walker was excited not only could he gain some experience but he would get a skill used by adventurers and leaders that would allow him to join or create a party. Most people needed to gain the skill through their system or by having a party decided and approved by a guild. The advantages he had were starting to show, not small. Maybe having a system like this wasn't as bad as he thought.

He quickly hopped from his bed and began getting dressed being as careful as possible not to let the floorboards creak. Through the years he had leaned to avoid the squeaky boards that would wake Lisa as he passed her bedroom. Thinking to himself, please stay asleep please stay asleep he was quickly interrupted by the system,

' Due to constant careful actions the skill silent feet has been found from the Hunters system would you like to learn the skill: Silent feet?'

"Yes learn skill Silent Feet" whispered walker

' silent feet skill has been learned

Silent feet- mana cost 0

Users steps become nearly silent allowing them to sneak up on prey or pass by predators without alerting them'

Quickly walker moved to the kitchen contemplating how a skill cost zero mana. He wondered if it was a unique skill of a hunter but was happy nonetheless knowing it would be useful to escape from a dangerous situation.

"Good morning." Flowed the bright voice of Hilda " I've prepared a backpack with some necessities you will need by the door but before you run out you'll be making bread with me."

Walker was used to helping his mother and jumped right in to measuring, mixing, and preparing the tools. But surprising the second he began kneading the dough his system chimed in,

' through consecutive actions the passive skill Extension has been learned.

Extension- passive

Extends the lifetime of food, potions, items, and others. Crafted by the user'

"Mother I just got the extension skill, is this why your bread doesn't stale as fast as normal bread?"

"Yes that's exactly right, I know it does more than just extend the shelf life of food stuffs but since that's my specialty it's all it affects. Since you might try your hand in potions or crafting I wanted you to try to learn it. It's my way of making sure you won't go hungry while out and about." Hilda said using a tender but firm voice full of pride. Upon learning that her son could learn any skill she desperately wanted to pass on a skill to him. As his mother she felt it was her duty to do something no matter how small to help him get started. "Now be quick I can hear your father putting on his gear, tell him he's responsible for walking with you to the adventurers guild, good luck today remember to be careful!"

Finding his father half dressed in his guard uniform and gear walker grabbed his backpack and bounced from foot to foot. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮

Garet was used to this as walker had always acted like this when going out to hunt for his system. The difference now was instead of searching he would be setting off on his own journey with his newly unlocked system. How many times had he and Hilda stayed up worried that walker wouldn't be able to survive daily life without a system? This fear had almost become true, but like a ray of hope walker gained his system and was ready to face the world. "Ha there we go!" Garret put on his gloves last as always and stood to open the door. " let's go get you to the adventurers guild. You better bring back a good story for us." Walker could only nod his head in excitement.

The walk through the market was quick, it helped that their home was near the main road and that the adventurers guild had their main building in the middle of the street. The guild was a massive four story building that had a triangular peak on the fourth floor roof. There was also a large training field behind the building for examinations and training. Not to mention the basement used for storage, monster dissection, and even some pet storage for tamers.

"Well this is your stop, don't be too late getting home, your mother worked hard on that birthday cake of yours,"Garret said as he continued his usual route to the gate.

Walker quickly pushed open the large oak door revealing the hustle and bustle of the guild's first floor. Plenty of adventures clamored over the morning bulletin boards full of potential quests. While the staff behind the counter registered accepted quests, issued rewards, and took quests from citizens.

Hurrying over to the counter and dodging the parties getting ready to leave, Walker approached an empty spot in front of the counter. A shorter woman wearing the guild's uniform which consisted of a black vest over a white shirt and black pants came up to the counter quickly while adjusting her glasses. She had short dirty blond hair barely reaching the top of her ears and a business like demeanor. The name tag said Clara- first floor manager

"Hello, and welcome to the adventurers guild, can I ask what business you have today?"

Walker was impressed by the professional attitude and readily replied, " yes I'm here to register, I'd like to take the tests to become an adventurer today."

Clara grabbed some papers from a shelf underneath the table. "Follow me, we will go to the written exam room for the first test. You will be required to answer questions on the basics of what an adventurer does, why you'd like to be one, and furthermore your system name and a brief description of what your system can do."

The room was simple, with rows of tables with chairs. A few others seemed to be taking the same exam as him. "Once you complete this form return to the front to hand it in. Next, you will be taken to the training field by an available adventurer above the silver tier to demonstrate your current skills. Finally, you will have an interview." "Once we evaluate all three we will inform you of the decision, I wish you the best of luck". Clara then turned and walked through the door. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝘯𝑒𝑡

Most of the information was easy, Walker had learned all this just by living and idolizing adventurers. However when he got to the section asking about what role he would play in a party he was unsure. So he answered everything and walked to the counter. "Excuse me, miss Clara here it asks what roll I would take in a party but I'm not sure how to answer. Can I ask for your guidance please?"Walker was very polite and knew how to treat someone in a customer service position. He learned well watching his mother assist those who came to by her pastries.

"Well that's usually an easy answer, those with long range attacks often put a simple term as archer or attack mage, some with defense and offensive prowess could list defender or attacker, and others with healing or support rolls may list supporter. Often those with leadership based systems just simply put down a leader." Clara replied with a short but very simple to understand answer demonstrating her years of experience.

Walker contemplated for a moment, " so if I can fill every position should I just reply all?"

Clara's face held some surprise until she caught herself and replied " I'm not sure someone could fill every position, may I ask for your System details so I can give you a better answer?"

Walker handed her the form and showed her the details he'd filled in about his system. She took quite a few minutes to finally reply "due to the information here I would say yes you could say all positions are available to you. However after your combat evaluation we will be able to give you a better position and prove your skills. Please wait here while I retrieve a proctor". Clara headed to a row of magic crystals used for communications.

After a short while a very large man with red hair, a red beard to his chest and came from the second floor. Walker couldn't help but think, this man could eat me alive like an ogre and no one would be able to stop him!

"My name's Dirk, you'll be following me. And be quick!" The man named Dirk said and began moving to the back door heading outside to a group of training dummies and weapon racks. 𝓫𝓮𝒹𝓷ℴ𝓿ℯ𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶

"Here's the deal, first choose any weapons you would like to demonstrate your abilities with and use them on the dummies I will watch. If you can't properly use them then we will spar. Understood?"

Walker replied quickly "yes sir"

" Don't use that sir crap on me, yes or no is fine. You have ten minutes, I'll be watching." Dirk stepped back and leaned against a weapons rack waiting.

Walker gazed at the options, bows, swords, and mage staffs lined up to choose from. There were even a few unique weapons to choose from. What should I do first? Walker was thinking, he didn't want to waste time so he grabbed the bow and notched an arrow.

'Due to quick movement while using a ranged weapon the skill Quick Shot has been taken from the Rangers system. Would the user like to learn Quick shot?'

"Yes learn Quick Shot" Walkers immediately reply caused Dirk to raise an eyebrow questioning his actions.

'Quick shot skill has been learned.

Quick shot cost- 1 mana

Speeds up motions to fire a physical projectile using a ranged weapon.'

Walker's body moved as if he had trained as an archer for years firing an arrow fast and accurately hitting a straw training dummy dead center. He quickly placed the bow down and grabbed a sword. Dirk thought he would try and slash the dummy next but watched in confusion as walker quickly pricked his finger drawing blood. "Light heal!" A green glow emanated from Walker's hand healing the prick faster than it was made. This action alone stunned Dirk. This boy was some strange mix of archer and healer? A priest? An exorcist maybe?

Walker knew he had four mana left to really show off his skills so he looked at the unique weapons in the rack and grabbed a large scythe due to its impressive appearance. He brought it to his side ready to swing it in an arc.

' unique weapon has been detected two skills available from the Reaper system, please choose one to learn,

Crescent moon cost - 2 mana

Can only be used with a scythe. The blade will follow the path of a crescent and send energy a short distance forward cleaving through flesh like butter.

Slash cost- 1 mana

Requires a bladed weapon. Cuts the opponent with the blade causing damage and blood to flow.'

Walker knew that showing off a unique skill at the cost of an extra mana point would most likely make a bigger impact. " learn crescent moon".

'Crescent moon skill learned'

Walker immediately used his new skill to send a crescent shaped energy from the blade that completely cut off the straw head of the training dummy. This skill was dangerous!

Dirk could barely stand at this point, these were skills from three different classes, never in all his years had he seen a system that allowed all three to exist at once.

Walker chose an elementary mage staff next, this was what he was most excited for, his entire life he had hoped he would be able to use real magic. He faced the sad looking training dummy and closes his eyes focusing all his energy in to the staff. Please let me use an attack spell he repeated in his head over and over.

'The user is channeling their mana in to a magical weapon, the skill mana shot has been taken from the Magicians System. Would you like to learn the skill mana shot?'

"Yes learn mana shot!"

'The skill mana shot has been learned,

Mana shot cost- 1 mana

Requires a magical staff to use. Consumes the users mana and condenses it in to a small ball which is fired at a high speed at the target'

Walker felt the energy within him rush in to the staff. He opened his eyes in time to witness a solid light blue ball fly from the tip of the staff and crush the remaining chest portion of the dummy. A resounding crack rang through the large training field causing many nearby adventures to look around.

"Dirk I seem to have destroyed the dummy, should I switch to another one?" Walker asked sheepishly.

"Why do you mean switch to the next one? You have more!?" This boy somehow demonstrated skills that should not be connected! Even one from a unique system. "No this is enough. Can you tell me, what system do you have? I've never seen anything like what you've demonstrated today." Dirk was rubbing his head in disbelief completely stumped.

"My system is called The Jack of All Trades system. I can learn any skills as long as they aren't a mastery skill. I can also use any weapon, gears, tools, items, you name it. I know it's hard to believe but I have one mana left that I could use to try another skill?"

Dirk stood speechless, a unique system like this actually existed. This boy could really learn any skill. The things he could do will be limitless, as a gold tier adventurer Dirk knew that he needed to ensure this boy fully registered and quickly grew stronger. The future of the guild was at stake! " You surpassed my expectations, as curious as I am to see more we don't need you passing out after using all your mana. Let's go inside, I will give my report and you will proceed to the interview." Dirk quickly began heading inside immediately finding Clara and heading to the second floor, Walker could see him speaking rapidly.

After sitting for some time Walker began to become worried. What if they had decided they couldn't accept him because he couldn't use a mastery skill!? Maybe my level was too low now, I haven't taken the time to level up.

While lost in thought Dirk and Clara approached "e-hem" Dirk cleared his throat to get Walker's attention. "Clara and I shall be interviewing you. Normally it would only be one person but since I'm curious about some things I asked to join in." Clara finished his sentence "we shall be heading to the second floor private meeting room one please follow us."

Hot on their heels Walker followed them up the staircase to see a long hallway with many doors each numbered in sequence. These were all private meeting rooms to discuss special quests such as escorts, item gatherings, and unique monster slaying.

The group quickly entered room one which had a few chairs and a large table to make meeting easier. Dirk and Clara took their seats on one side of the table while Walker was on the other.

"You've demonstrated a very diverse group of skills coming from multiple Systems. I have officially listed you as able to fulfill all possible roles within a party." Clara produced the paperwork from earlier pointing out the finished section. "That being said what position do you see yourself fulfilling?"

Walker had already thought of a reply for this kind of question while he waited and replied with confidence. " I lack experience and also need to level up, so I hope to find a younger party like myself and fill a much needed role or even become a leader that can support the whole party. I feel like it will be easier to find where I fit in as I speak to potential party members and experience real battles."

To Dirk, this answer made the most sense, but he was left wondering if he would focus on supporting through attack skills or other means. " will you be learning more healing and support skills or will you focus on attack and defense?" Dirks's voice had become much more serious as he gauged Walker's character.

" I want to learn enough skills to cover any weakness, but based on the combat test I have more attack skills than others. Learning a support skill like boost or more defensive skill like mana shield would be a good goal. However, I am also thinking of learning some trade and survival skills to repair weapons and gear, along with more easily set up camp, and even negotiate prices." Walker's answer would have sounded much too grand if he did not have his system, but with the system he had it was a very attainable goal to pursue.

The conversation continued further in to his upbringing, how he acquired his system, and other personal matters. After about an hour Clara spoke up " this will conclude today's interview we will bring the information to the guild master for examination. Normally it would not require his input however with your unique system we would like to put in personal recommendations. Please report to the guild in the morning to retrieve your plate and further guidance, even without the master's input you have surpassed the requirements to join as a stone tier adventurer. Congratulations."

After being escorted back down stairs, Walker made sure to properly thank Dirk and Clara for their guidance before rushing out the door to his family home. He flew past people as he sprinted in excitement.

'Through constant sprinting, the user has learned the passive skill endurance from the wanderers' system.

Endurance- passive

The user can sprint, run, walk, and fight for a longer period.'

Walker didn't even notice this message; he was too focused on shouting the good news.

Bursting through the door, "I did it! I passed, I get to go on adventures!"

Lisa was the first to reach him jumping to him in her normal manner refusing to let go. Caught in the midst of her koala hug Walker heard her "you're not allowed to leave for adventures. Who will stay with me when I prick my fingers? Who will I talk to when I level up? You can't leave! It's not allowed!"

Walker had known this would happen " you know some quests will now take me out of the city, but that doesn't mean I won't be back to visit. How do you expect me to collect stories to tell you by staying home all the time?"

The enticing words caused Lisa to hop down and smile, she could be the first to hear her brother's stories!

As this scene unfolded Hilda had walked up and watched with a smile. "Your father will be home any minute. Get your stuff put away and be ready to eat. I've roasted a chicken, baked a cake, and even bought some extra milk today. We are celebrating!"

No sooner than that they heard the door behind them clank open to show a tired but excited looking Garret. "Now since you beat me home you can set the table and tell me all about the registration!"

As the family began their meal the words flowed from Walker without end. So much so he almost forgot to eat himself. But as usual, Hilda being his mother was able to snap him out of it. Sooner than he realized it was time to sleep, he went to his room stuffed and happy. If he had ever thought that today, the day of his birthday that he would have a system he would have been full of disbelief. Quickly checking his quest he realized it had not been completed, Walker looked at it and realized he still needed to retrieve his stone tier badge from the guild to fulfill the requirements. Sleep came easily after using all but one mana today and talking more than he ever did.

Morning approached in what seemed like a blink of an eye. "Today I plan on accepting my badge and looking for a small party. I need to level up and learn new things so I can take better quests." Walker made the announcement as he stood from the breakfast table.

Garret hearing this toughened his emotions and replied " that usually means you'll be taking a quest with a party if you can find one. Which shouldn't be too hard for you. But for one second if you don't think that after you join them on a quest and return through those gates, you aren't expected to come here immediately after reporting to the guild you're in for a world of punishment."

Walker knew this was the same as wishing him off for his father and didn't dare reply. He knew he would be welcomed back home with warmth no matter what.

After saying these goodbyes and promising Lisa a great story over and over he managed to sneak through the front door and head to the guild.

This morning the hustle and bustle of the guild seemed much more so than the other day. Many stone and iron tier adventures were clamoring about. Walker caught bits and pieces of sentences about a platinum tier adventurer leading his gold tier teammates. The word dragon seemed to come up more clearly as well. However, Walker was not interested in gossip and only had one goal in mind, quest completion!

Quickly spotting Clara he jumped to the counter and called out to her" miss Clara, good morning!" 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

Clara was happy to see walker return bright and early " I have your badge right here there was no issue processing your paperwork. With the blessing of the guild master, we have decided to waive the five gold registration fee due to our high expectations for your future. I would also recommend you meet three younger adventurers upstairs who could use someone with healing abilities you possess. They are also of a similar age to you as well and we here at the guild hope you will give them a chance."

Walker was stunned not only did he receive his badge for free keeping his savings of 100G (G= gold) intact but they had also gone so far as to find party members that could join him! " thank you very much this is so much more than I expected. I'm very glad I was able to register with you!" Walker showed his heart on his sleeve.

"The room you will be going to is room 15, they have been getting to know each other for the last half hour so you will have some catching up to do," Clara said with a smile sending him off to the second floor

Walker found the room with ease and could hear muffled voices coming from the other side. With a quick knock, he opened the door revealing a tall girl with blond hair and thick iron armor covering her. She could be described as a mountain, the feeling that a single point of damage could not even phase her was an understatement.

Sitting at the table with his feet up was a slim boy only a few inches taller than Walker adorned in light leather armor, black hair, and sharp features. From the look he has, anyone could tell he was happy not to be alone with the two girls any longer.

Finally, a tough looking girl wearing slightly revealing clothing showing off her formed muscles, red hair, and tough looking iron knuckles was standing to the left. She looked ready to pounce, glaring at Walker as if daring him to challenge her.

"Finally we get to balance out the ratio in here, I was worried I'd be the only guy in the party!" A quick joke and a chuckle came from the boy at the table who slowly stood up to extend his hand. "I'm Gil, 15 years old and user of The Ranger System."

His introduction was quick and to the point. The tall girl to his right took a step forward as well "you can call me Su, I just turned 15 as well. I shall be the protector in the party." Walker quickly confirmed in his mind that she would easily fill the role of defender in their party.

Lastly, all eyes looked toward the red head with the iron knuckles. " what?! I already introduced myself. It's not my fault he showed up late." She looked away pretending there was nothing to be said.

" she said her name is Remey and she's a close combat fighter. Although that's easy to guess with her gear and choice of weapon." Gil spoke up quickly to avoid conflict.

Walker's thinking skills really started to shine as he found exactly what they needed to be a functioning party " so all that's missing is a healer and supporting role, and if we find a fifth member down the line a magic damage dealer. Well not that we will really need another member as long as I can boost my mana I can cover us." He quickly jumped to his system and distributed his 5 points in to mana

' mana has risen to 11' the system chimed immediately

"Wait, so you're a healer and supporter?" Remey interrupted. She knew she would often take damage and knew she needed to make sure the healer focused on her since she would be closest to the enemy.

"Well technically yes. But I can also cover us on magic attack, also if your gear is damaged I'll try to learn some skills to fix it. Oh, I can cook too so we shouldn't worry about food much...and...and..." Walker looked like he could say more but the confused looks of all three caused him to trail off. "What's wrong do I have something on my face?" He asked innocently.

"I'd like to ask what system you have, but it will be easier to go downstairs and have the guild link us as a party so we can see each other's stats and system names." Gill offered up taking some pressure off the others and Walker.

"Oh, actually I can do that too!" Walker immediately switches to his quest to collect rewards. "Collect rewards!"

' you have completed your first quest.

5exp rewarded 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Due to recommendations from two staff of the adventurers guild and advanced reward has been issued, Party skill was upgraded to the party leader skill from the Leader system.

Party leader skill:

Not only can you start and join a party but as the leader, you will be able to see the items, skills, statistics, and location on any map of your current party members. You will also be able to quick chat any party members by announcing "quick chat _" '

" activate party leader. Send invites to Gil, Remey, and su!" Walker immediately activated his rewarded skill with a massive smile on his face.

A toll of three chimes echoed in the room as the three received the invite. "Seriously! Didn't you just say you could heal and support? But you actually have a leader system?" Gil was flabbergasted he was meeting someone with such high potential seeing as the leadership systems were a rare case.

"Just wait until you accept and view our party, it's much better," Walker said with a sly smile.

After all three accepted the invite walker quickly viewed his new teammates to get a feeling for the party.

Su

Shield Bearer System

Level 4

exp until next level- 80 exp

Hp- 14

Def- 12

Mdef-12

Atk-8

Char-5

Agi-5

Mana-11

"You have an unbreakable shield. No attack may phase you, your protection is sure".

She would definitely be the party's defender. This made sense looking at her stature again and how her stats related. Walker couldn't help but be terrified if she was an agility based attacker. Someone of her stature could probably land a heavy blow ignoring defense. Luckily she was a tank instead.

Remey

Brawler System

Level 6 exp until next level- 320

Hp-15

Def-14

Mdef-7

Atk-20

Matk-7

Char-6

Agi-16

Mana-15

" close and personal! That is the essence of close combat. Let your fists fly and blood boil."

Based off of her temperament Walker thought Remey would do a lot of rushing in. This could be rough for everyone but at least her smaller size could put off enemies. She might get some good surprise jabs in.

Gil

The Ranger System

Level 3 exp until next level- 40

Hp-5

Def-4

Mdef-4

Atk-9

Matk-9

Char-8

Agi-10

Mana-10

"The forest is where you thrive. Hunting comes naturally to you, foraging is second nature."

It was a worry that finding food outside the walls would be tough but if Gil could forage it could be really useful. Not to mention he had skills that could assist in venturing around a Forest which was a dangerous place for any traveler due to low visibility.

...

"All skills!" 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗰𝗼𝐦

"All weapons!"

"All gear!"

Shouted Gil, Remey, and Su in order while staring open mouthed at walker.

" yea I kinda have a jack of all trades system, the only downside is I can't learn any mastery skills." Walker replied while looking down.

"So that's how you can cover us so easily, you're right we don't need a fifth member." Su said matter of factly.

"In that case I think we should take an easy quest to get to know each other and see our skills in person" Gil had the right idea walker was thinking exactly the same thing. Su quickly nodded her head leaving only Remey to reply. " well yes obviously, just make sure you heal me, I don't feel like getting hurt on an easy quest!" Remey blurted out but Walker got the feeling she was happier than she let on.

The three almost ran down to start fighting for a quest from the stone tier quest board.

Slime gathering, mail delivery, stable cleanup...all sounded lackluster.

The guild spent a lot of their time separating requests in to proper Bulletin boards for each tier. The safety of their adventurers was always in mind. Adventurers that took quests above their tier ranking were rare but also often denied. Certain situations may allow them to do so safely but it was unique. For example a water mage of the same tier as a quest may easily fail a quest in to a desert where they are at a disadvantage. Where as a fire mage of a tier lower may succeed due to the extreme heat. The guild also did not allow anyone to run off solo adventuring without warrant. These who did attempt to often would be set straight by guild staff during testing. Not to mention have their quests denied.

"Hey! Who wants to go hunt some flame newts to collect their tails for a potion maker?!" Gil had snuck to the front and grabbed a simple quest. Flame newts were black lizards with red spots that spent their time absorbing sun on the outskirts of the sun hollow forest. They tended to move fast but their tails were an important ingredient for certain potions.

Walker checked the reward requirements and saw they only needed to gather 10 tails for a reward of 100G. That would be 25G each which was a bit high for a simpler quest, but passing up this quest was not easy.

"Let's take it the reward is good and as long as we don't let them use their fire spit to burn us too badly I can heal any small wounds'' Walker offered. "Then please go accept it at the counter, leader." Su addressed Walker. He was surprised to be addressed as "leader" but after inviting them to the party and making himself the leader it did make sense.

Seeing an open spot at the counter he jumped in place to wait for Clara to be available.

After a few moments, Clara came to Walker, " I take it you've had a good Introduction and wish to accept your first quest?"

"Yes please, we would like to accept this quest to hunt and gather Fire Newt tails". Walker responded curtly.

"That was very quick indeed, this quest was just posted with an adjusted reward due to the potential danger in the area. As such I must advise you not to enter the sun hollow forest under any circumstance. A platinum tier adventurer is leading his gold tier members to slay a dragon that has recently been seen in the area. However, as long as you remain on the outskirts it should not be a problem." Walker knew this warning was emphasized strongly because of the low amount of adventuring experience but he was confident in his ability to safely return.

"Thank you for the warning, I'll discuss it with my party so they are prepared for any event." With that, he turned to meet his new found party outside to talk over the quest and head towards the South Gate, the nearest to the sun hollow woods.

The walk to the South Gate was less busy than the north but that's because more travelers came from the grassy plains to the north than through the more dangerous forests to the south. However, for adventurers the south was much more intriguing due to the higher numbers of monsters that called the forests home. This lead to the gathering quests, escort quests, and even slaying quests!

Upon discussing and accepting the quest the system had sent the same message to all four young adventurers.

'Your party had accepted a quest. you must hunt and retrieve 10 flame newts tails.

Rewards- 25G each 5exp'

This put a spring in their step as they headed for the gate.

"Stop right there!" A gruff familiar voice ordered.

Garret with three guards in tow quickly halted the party.

"Father, why are you stopping us? We are headed out to gather flame newt tails; it's our first quest!" Walker was confused

"And who told you to leave through this gate without introducing your new friends to the guards on duty?" The business like tone was undermined by the smirk on his face

Walker quickly caught on thinking, I can't believe he would intentionally embarrass me on my first day. He could swear he saw Remey giggle just a bit before hurriedly returning a serious face.

The introductions were quick but as soon as they were about to leave, "come here a minute, the other guards and myself pooled some gold together to get you something as a congratulations. This will put our minds at ease, everyone will miss watching you running around trying to learn new things."Garrett slipped a small red potion in to Walker's hands. This was a light potion it's cost 50G and could heal up to 30hp. For a new adventure it could mean life or death!

Without any proper words to say all walker could do was smile as the guards behind his father made shooing motions to push him on his way.

The first step outside the gate is always awe inspiring. The world opens up in to a grand scene. The open sky full of fluffy white clouds and the rocky fields leading to the Sun hallow forest. The rocks were the reason the flame newts lived in the area so much. They could absorb plenty of heat to help them grow. Normally a flame newts is the size of a child's hand but if left alone they have been known to grow over two feet long!

The party followed the well worn path all looking in different directions in search of one newt. However walker was about to make things much easier,

' through consecutive actions the keen eye passive skill has been taken from the artists system.

Passive skill keen eye

Allows the user to notice small details in their surroundings, especially if they are focused.' 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒏𝒆𝒕

"Oh! This will help a lot. I just gained the keen eye passive skill. I should be able to spot them easier now." Walker's sudden exclamation caught the party off guard but before they could say anything he had already stopped and pointed at a large stone about ten feet away.

A small flame newt was resting on the stone blending in while basking. Gil motioned for everyone to stop while he silently drew his bow.

' silent shot has been activated- target resting flame newt'

Immediately an arrow flew through the air without a sound cleanly cutting in to the newts small head.

'10 damage done to flame newt. Flame newt defeated. Party gains 1exp each.'

"That was an excellent shot." Su chimed, she knew how difficult it could be hitting a small target even if it was close.

"I can definitely see the perks of your Ranger System. Having a silent long range skill could really help against these quick flame newts." Walker deduced. He began thinking that ten tails would be much faster to gain than he expected. They may even be able to collect some extra to sell to the guild!

This method seemed to work well for them, they managed to find and grab the next four flame newts no problem gaining them four more exp each!

"I don't know about you guys but I know I'm not going to touch any gross dead newts, their blood will ruin my gear!" Remey was not happy realizing she would need to carry some at some point seeing as Walker had most gear and food, Gil had his arrows and bow along with the first five newts, and Su would always be occupied with her heavy gear and shield.

"Oooo wait Walker can you use spatial magic?" Gil excitedly asked, "there's a skill called inventory, I read in a book that it creates a space to store anything that's not alive."

Walker wasn't sure how he would learn this skill but he decided to give it a shot "so what I would just touch the newt and say what? Inventory?"

' the user has used a specific action, the inventory skill has been taken from the dimension traveler system. Would you like to learn inventory skills?'

"Wow, that was actually pretty easy, yes learn inventory!"

'Inventory skill has been learned

Inventory cost- 0 mana

By saying "store" when in contact with a non living item the item shall be stored in a different dimensional space. Items will degrade at a slower rate while stored. To retrieve an item all that is needed is a thought.'

Walker quickly touched the five newts and said "store", a small foggy energy emerged from his hand and they disappeared. Yet again Gil was stunned he hadn't even believed a unique skill like that could be learned but another let alone so easily!

A few hours passed as they continued on as the same process and finding the final newt just near the forest's edge. They had gained 5 more exp each. This put Walker in a very good mood because he was now sure to level up and receive five more skill points after they returned and claimed the quest.

"Thanks to Gil we were able to do this quest much more easily than expected, but I think trying to catch a few more on our walk back would help us. We can sell them to the guild for dissection and maybe get a few extra gold to split." Walker had thought of this earlier and now decided it was the right time to share his goals to gain gold.

The party agreed and began to step back towards the kingdom walls "eeeeeeuuuuuuuugggghhhhhh!" A massive guttural screech came from the Forest followed by a Plume of smoke and what appeared to be a pair of black wings.

"Holy hell!" Remey who had been silent more of the day jumped and fell backwards. Luckily Su was right there to catch her before she hit the ground living up to her system. Remey quickly jumped up face as red as her hair while Gil was obviously holding back a burst of laughter. But Walker was oblivious to all of this...

'A mother's death cry was heard. An emergency quest has been generated. "Save my child from greed".

Requirements: save the young child before it is captured and sold in to slavery 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Reward: evaluated by performance

?exp, ? Skill'

Walker didn't understand where a mother's cry had been heard, but he knew that rewards based on performance could mean a lot of exp. he also knew that a new skill could be valuable to his future.

" Hey everyone I just received an emergency quest, I'm going to accept it. I'm not sure what will happen." Walker followed through by selecting accept.

' Quest has been accepted, a small arrow leading you shall become visible to you and your party members. Please make haste.'

" the party leader has accepted a rescue quest? Don't only high tier adventurers receive those?" Gil wasn't sure how to process this knowing that usually, a gold or higher tier adventurer would receive these kinds of emergency quests.

"There's no reward listed but if it's performance based we could really do well to complete this fast," Su stated out of facts.

" Fine I'll do it but you have to explain what's going on, it's too much work." Remey spit out the answer but her excited tone gave her true feelings away.

Looking at the small gold arrow walker saw it pointing towards the Forest. "I guess we are going in to the forest. Hey Remey, Su I think it would be best that you two held down this area so the child we rescue will feel safe when we get back. Gil if I remember right you have some stealth skills that can help you move through the forest silently. I have a skill that silences my steps so we should be able to move efficiently. Ready!"

The pair set off at a furious pace weaving through the brush and weaving through the trees. Being in the warmer season the ground was lush with greenery but they did not make a sound. Gil was using his skills to the limit to stay vigilant and remain by Walker's side.

"We got a big one this time! Selling these scales will net us plenty of gold."

"Check around here maybe we'll find some of its treasure hoards!"

Distant voices could be heard which walker assumed were the adventures who had just slain the dragon. Through the branches an outline the size of a house could be seen, not many details but large black scales, and pointy white claws were enough to tell that it was indeed a dragon. With an extra burst of energy, the pair moved on noticing the little gold arrow arcing toward a rocky Boulder surrounded by old looking trees.

"It's a cave. The kid must've fallen down running from all that noise." Gil's assumption was an easy one to make but from Walker's examination of the area, he notices small bones and a well worn opening to the cave.

"Let's head in slowly. It doesn't look large but something has definitely been living here. Be ready to run." A quick but firm whisper was enough to put Gil on edge and hold his bow at the ready.

The two stepped in to the dim areas in the cave realizing it was much smaller than expected. A small pile of animal bones in the back along with some shed black scales. This was the dragon's nest! The worry increased as the two thought of a child being captured as food, but walker thought further, why would the child be sold to slavery if they were meant for food? 𝒃𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Hissssssss grrooooo" a tame hiss and a small growl were heard to their right causing Gil to jump back and notch an arrow. Walker quickly moved in front of him brandishing his small leather shield, but suddenly put his arrow down.

"You idiot that's a dragon hatchling if it can breathe fire even though it's small it will kill you!" Panicked Gil tried to get around Walker, but was blocked again

"No stop the quest just updated, the hatchling is the child." Walker said slowly

"What?! Impossible! Emergency quests are only generated from humans I thought?" What Gill had said wasn't necessarily false but low tier adventurers would never encounter quests issued by other races, or extremely dangerous situations.

' The child has been found. The child has harmed itself in its fearful state and is currently injured. Due to this condition the child is hostile to all in the area. Calming the child is required to continue the rescue'

The hatchling was slowly backing away, its small black scales could be seen as semi transparent almost like crystal. Small white horns protruded from its shovel shaped head. Tiny pointed teeth could be seen as it hissed and growled. The length from head to tail only was enough to reach Walker's waist but he knew that its sharp claws could still shred his flesh. However, as the hatchling stepped back a few scratches were seen on its side dripping red blood.

" How can that be the child? It's ready to kill us if we even step forward." Gill said exasperated 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺

" my system said it was hurt and fearful let me try something. Light heal". Walker quickly cast his only healing skill in hope that it would work.

' light heal- target black crystal flame dragon hatchling- 15hp recovered'

The hatching was startled and jumped up moving even farther back. But now knowing he could heal the hatchling walker quickly cast light heal again to finish

'The child has been healed, the fear has subsided.'

The hatchling was definitely more calm and wasn't hissing or growling as much as it had before. " Alright, I'm going to try and get closer. We still need to get it out of here away from those adventurers. I think I understand what it means by "sell" and "slavery" in the quest. Wouldn't those adventures try and sell a high ranking pet to a tamer to use as their pet? Aren't most pets raised from eggs? But this hatchling is already born so it would be forced to follow a tamer. It's not right." Walker had finally collected the puzzle pieces and found the reason for the quest to be generated. He knew that he would not want this for any of his family and completely understood the fallen mother's feelings.

" you've got a point but we still don't know how to get it to follow us. All we have to do is get it away from here right? I'm sure it won't let us carry it." Gil was right carrying the hatchling would just lead to injury since it didn't trust humans.

Walker quickly remembered his inventory and in a grey flash, a newt appeared in his hand. The hatchlings' eyes immediately focused on it following even a slight movement of the newt. Walker and Gill smiled at each other having the same thought.

Walker began tossing a newt at the hatchling who jumped for it and greedily ate until not even a crumb was left. "Alright here's the plan we will lead it out of the forest as far from the adventurers as possible. Quickly take a look around the cave while I start to move, you might be able to find some useful things for crafting." Walker said glancing at the shed scales nearby while tossing him his backpack which had a little room in it still.

While backing out the cave walker held another newt in his hand he shook slightly which made the hatchling begin to step forward. As he moved outside and toward where Remey and Su waited the hatchling began to quicken its pace wanting more food.

After about ten minutes of this process, the hatchling appeared annoyed not getting the newt so Walker tossed it to the newt as a reward causing the hatchling to again become motivated to follow even farther. After another ten or so minutes Gil came in to sight, finally catching up. "I grabbed quite a bit for you to store but I think you should just store the whole bag first so we can sort it all when we get away from here". Gil definitely had over packed the backpack which appeared to be ready to burst. Walker quickly touched it "store!" The backpack disappeared.

"Let's keep moving, we are almost out of here." Walker mentioned while staking more steps back. Gil kept his bow up ready to intercept anything dangerous that approached as they backed out of the forest and in to the rocky fields once again. Loud footsteps of Su and Remey approached but came to a skidding halt.

"I guess you're wondering what happened." Gil and walker said in unison

After an explanation walker tossed the fifth flame newt to the ever hungry hatchling. "By the way, we will need to hunt for more flame newts now that I've been leading the hatchling." The small laugh, in the end, helped to put Su and Remey at ease but this left the question.

"So why do we do with it now? Has the quest been completed?" Remey was the first to ask the question that weighed on everyone's minds. Walker checked his system and didn't see any completed section but noticed a flashing area labeled inventory.

He quickly took a look realizing this must be the storage from the inventory.

Inventory:

Flame newt body-5

Darkness crystal-3

Black crystal flame dragon scale- 8

Camping gear-1

No stale bread-5

Water bottle-4

Gold- 100 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨

Light health potion- 1

"Wow I can see everything already organized in my inventory, Gil you even grabbed three magic stones. These darkness crystals are really rare. We can even try to sell or make gear from those shed dragon scales." The excitement in Walker's voice was apparent but his party members were much too distracted watching the hatchling who had come forward in front of Walker.

He kneeled down, "what's wrong? Are you still hungry?" Walker was confused by the actions of the hatchling.

Without warning the hatchling leaned forward and touched its head to Walkers resulting in a system notification.

' the emergency quest "save my child from greed". Has been completed.

Rewards:

30 exp to each party member

Elite skill- blood contract

Uses all mana in the user's body to condense a single drop of blood. This drop shall unite any form of beast and bond them to the user. They shall share emotions, exp, and other aspects of life depending on the beast's intelligence.'

"What!" The four were stunned getting this much exp was usually expected from copper and silver tier adventurer quests. The number may seem low but most quests took in to account the other rewards. Hunting quests usually rewarded low exp but high gold due to the fact that the hunted monsters give exp themselves. Whereas gathering quests gave high exp and moderate gold due to the tame nature of the quest.

The hatchling again bumped Walker as if getting impatient. " do you want me to use my new skill?" This question was answered with a soft "gurufff" sound which Walker took as a yes. " Guys I'm about to try out a new skill, it will use my remaining mana so I'll need a bit of help on the way home" Walker sounded worried but Su stepped forward prepared to cover him.

Holding his hand over the hatchlings head "blood contract!" Upon saying this walker felt all of his energy converge to his fingertip and a small amount of pain

'Due to blood contract activation, all mana has condensed. 1 damage taken.'

The glowing blue and red drop fell on to the hatchlings head and the blue color spread over its body while the red drop of blood was absorbed.

' black crystal flame dragon hatchling has accepted the contract. The user can now see the level and skills of the contracted beast. The emotional bond has been formed. weak Telepathic communication is now possible. Please name your contracted beast to solidify your bond'

Hmm, a name should I just call it Draco? It's cliche though, fang? Lisa would find that cute...maybe something based on its appearance, her crystal black scales kinda shiny like the stars when the sun hits them...midnight? That kinda fits; you can only see the shade of darkness at midnight. " would you like the name Midnight?" Walker asked the hatchling in response the hatchling began hopping around Walker with plenty of energy but sadly walker lacked the energy himself. Upon looking at his System he saw he had leveled up and knew that his skill points were best off used for his mana since he would constantly need more to use his skills.

'5 points have been added to mana. Total mana moved to 17.'

The overwhelming tired feeling dissipated to a small degree making it easier for him to stand. "Do you need my shoulder to lean on?" Su prepared herself but with a shake of his head Walker steadied himself.

"Do you want to explain what just happened and why the party shows Midnight as our fifth member?" Remey cut in

"Well I used a contract skill and now the hatchling is bonded with me. Everyone I would like to Introduce you to Midnight. Oh she's a female black crystal flame dragon. She knows two skills and is only level 1" walker made the introduction as midnight stopped to look up raising her head in pride upon hearing her new name.

Midnight

Black flame crystal dragon (hatchling)

Level 1

Skills:

Devour-

Consumes prey to strengthen the body and assist in growth

Shred-

Using claws tears at the target causing damage. The stronger the user the higher the damage.

"Well it's final, one day you're going to give me a heart attack with all the surprises. First you're a healer, then you're a spatial magic user, and now you've tamed a rare dragon." Gil threw his arms up in defeat, knowing that things will only get crazier.

"Good thing we are adventurers, you will be able to easily feed Midnight by taking her on hunting quests. But please ask her not to eat all the flame newts." Su fretted behind Walker. He turned just to see midnight pouncing on to a rock and coming back up with a mouthful of newt.

This was a good opportunity to test out the telepathic communication ""midnight please leave the tails for us, we need them for a quest once we get back to the adventurers guild"" walker thought toward midnight. The reaction was instant midnight angled her head slightly then ran toward him quickly dropping just a flame newt tail in front of him almost bragging that she could easily accomplish this.

"Yea yea he's now a tamer and we are still short on flame newts so let's get moving. The sooner we are back the better I have things to do." Remey pushed everyone to move. Walker wasn't sure what she needed to do but didn't mind moving along also sensing that midnight wanted to hunt more.

The trip back seemed to move much faster than the trip there but the party was able to relax more as they watched midnight inspect every little crack and crevice for flame newts. They all wondered if this would become her favorite food and how many she would need to eat once she grew in to an adult.

'Midnight has successfully hunted 10 flame newts. The exp shall be split with the party. 10 exp each'

The system sent a message surprising the party because they didn't expect any experience would be split from Midnight's feasting. Midnight however pranced over dropping the remainder of the tails on the ground with a proud look about her.

"Speaking of experience I leveled up after the last quest and I know Gil did too. But that makes me wonder, how did you get to level 6 already Remey?" Walker had been wondering this for a while but had held himself back as not to put any Unnecessary pressure on his new member.

" well it's not like it's a secret or anything. I grew up in an orphanage we always had to fight over food and other stuff so one day I got in to a fight with one of my siblings and there it was my Brawler system. It just works out that every time we got in to a spat I would gain exp. so if we can move faster I'd prefer to get back soon, who else do you think is bringing dinner tonight?" Remey's answer made a lot of sense, the situation almost seemed tailored to her system.

"So that's what you meant when you had things to do. You should come by my house my mother has the baker system and makes plenty of things you could bring home". Walker offered hoping that this would help her open up to the rest of the party more 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒏𝒆𝒕

"Maybe I'll do that, I'll think about it" Remey said quietly almost too quietly.

"Here I am, just getting my system through hunting with my father in the woods and you were out fighting already. I feel like I definitely fell behind." Gil chimed in with a laugh. " living on the outside of the walls my father took me hunting since he was an archer and I learned to forage from my mother since she was a farmer. You could say as a Ranger I got half of each of their systems."

"You know some people do believe the system can be passed down from parents so in your case that would make sense." Walker added.

All eyes then turned to Su expectantly. "It's your turn we shared ours and we already know about Walker's unusual system so how did you get yours Su!?" Remey was spot on

"Well it's not that good a story" she looked away embarrassed "I was trying to reach something on the top shelf and a bucket fell. I used my arm to block it...and then my system came up". She trailed off in the end.

"You know what they say, try everything you can because you don't know what will unlock your system." Gil chimed in to comfort her

"Has anyone else realized that we now have to take a baby dragon through the South Gate?" Remey suddenly inquired while stopping.

"Honestly I was pretending it wouldn't be a problem" walker said with a slight frown knowing he would most likely have to pay a fee for not having his beast registered with the adventurers guild.

""Stay close to me, we are entering the kingdom it could be dangerous. '' Walker thought to Midnight who growled slightly but proceeded to stick to his heels.

"We might as well get this over with, hopefully, the fee isn't too bad." Walker was very nervous. The guards didn't know he was a tamer making it tough to bring a monster in. But he knew under no circumstances could he leave midnight alone outside. 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝒏𝙤𝒗𝒆𝙡．𝙤𝒓𝙜

"Halt!" You may be adventurers but you must not bring beasts inside the walls for the safety of the people!" One guard walker didn't recognize spoke up. The others who he had met many times were looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Please state your business walker." The other guard had spoken up but been more polite knowing the news of his system and also having pitched in for the gift.

"Sooo I might have tamer skills now and I just forged a pact with Midnight here through an emergency quest...if my father is still working you might want to get him so he can file a report. I know this isn't the right way to do it but I haven't registered as a tamer yet. By the way, my name's Walker! My father is Garret, how have you liked the new job?" Walker sped through the beginning but quickly turned to the new and now off put guard.

The new guard slightly unsettled after hearing this was the boy every other guard gossiped about, " Well it's not as exciting as one may think but a quiet life here is better than patrolling the fields and fighting orcs. So you're the boy who can learn anything huh? Sure you're not just a lucky tamer?"

" If I was just a tamer would I be able to heal people, defend, attack, walk silently, and do this?" Walker used his inventory and pulled out his backpack causing the guard's jaw to drop. Spatial magic he had just witnessed spatial magic!

"Well, eeermmm yea you might have a point there, in any case for not having the proper identification for your..umm Midnight? There it normally will cost 20G fine and until you register at the guild you must be escorted by guards there". Leaning on his work knowledge the guard was able to cast off his previously shaken emotions to regain seriousness.

"Walker! Why must you cause trouble!" Garret had just rounded the corner to see a small black dragon curled around his son's legs playing while he spoke to another guard. "Why did you bring a baby dragon with you!? Didn't you just go to collect flame newts? Dragons and newts are very different...oh I've failed as a father." Garret appeared to be defeated but the look of wonder as he stared at the black crystal dragon was apparent.

"Well father this is Midnight my new partner" reaching down to tap midnight forehead "and Midnight this is my father Garret you'll be seeing more of him tonight at dinner." Midnight looked fiercely at Garret for a moment before walking up to him and sniffing then shaking her head. She would remember him now but for some reason, all she sent to walker was ""food? Hungry? When?"". Walker wasn't surprised it seemed like this little dragon would eat him out of house and home. Lots of hunting quests could be seen in his future.

After sitting down to file some paperwork and forking over the 20G two guards had appeared to walk with them to the adventurers guild. Helping to pass the trip they bothered the party members about their first quest and what happened. This completely distracted them all from the looks of amazement and reactions of passersby in the street.

Once they saw the familiar door of the guild the guards bid them farewell even waving to midnight who gave a soft "pfft" in farewell. The guild is used to many strange sights but seeing a small dragon was indeed a sight that drew a few stares. Clara nearly jumped over the counter in her surprise. Where did he get a dragon...didn't I issue them a flame newt quest?.

"We'll be heading to meeting room five please follow me." Clara only took a moment to steel herself back to her normal composed form. Following her upstairs and to the room they quickly sat down, midnight finding it more comfortable to lay on top of Walker's feet instead of the table made them all glad.

Clara's expectant glare causes Walker to immediately recount the circumstances during their quest. At the word emergency quest Clara, a face showed disbelief but she knew that lying was not something a young adventurer could pull off. After some time and a few questions later things seemed to draw to a close. "I'll be taking the items from your quest and I shall return with the reward along with paperwork to register your beast...err to add Midnight to your party". Clara had realized midnight popped her head up at being called beast so Clara quickly changed to saying her name. Midnight's reaction was a proud shake of her head before returning to her nap.

A moment later. "Here is your 25G each, I would recommend as I do to all young adventurers to save it and invest in your gear at your lower tier to prepare for the future. Secondly, I have filled out this registration form for you and it only requires your signature. From this point on Midnight will be required to wear this tag showing her contract with you. The guards will recognize it and other adventurers will know not to cause trouble. Finally I recommend you find a suitable place for her to live as she may be small now but with time I'm sure you can imagine the size she will grow to." Clara has slid a small metal necklace that was engraved with a strange symbol

' identification tag has been recognized, please list the wearer and the user.'

Walker quickly placed it on one of Midnight's small horns

'Identification plaque has been bound to black crystal dragon hatchling- midnight. Contracted with user Walker. Due to the registration being finalized the stats of the contracted beast are now available to the party leader.'

Walker quickly looked at his party menu excited to finally see the difference between a dragon and a human. He knew that monsters and beasts were naturally stronger and grew in different ways but he was not prepared for what he saw.

Midnight

Black flame crystal dragon (hatchling)

Exp. 10/100

Hp-100

Def-50

Mdef-50

Atk-75

Matk-75

Agi-30

Mana-50

...

This was insane midnight was many times stronger than any of them! But this is only her level 1 stats? I wonder why she doesn't have charisma, is it because she's considered a monster and doesn't need it? Maybe charisma is only a human based stat. These thoughts ran rampant through Walker's head before he noticed her exp. "it will take longer for midnight to level up than us but it is a fair price to pay for her stats being so strong at a low level." Walker said out loud.

"So she'll be this small and cute for a long time then?" Surprising everyone Remey had been the one to pose this question. Her face was slightly tinged red but broke In to a brilliant smile upon hearing a small low purring sound from midnight whose draconic nature would always welcome praise.

"Well I can't say for sure but I think if we hold her back she could suffer, we all have heard stories of how strong dragons get and the sizes they reach. Plus what if being with us on adventures helps her grow to her peak? We will see many different things and fight many different battles." Walker was falling deeper and deeper in to thought. All the possibilities could suffocate him.

"Well if battles are something you need I strongly recommend volunteering for the field patrol. We are nearing the end of the harvest season and the guild will be asked to assist the guards as usual." Clara was spot on knowing that such a task would truly help the relations of young adventurers and the guards not to mention help them raise their rank in the long run.

"Oh yeah she's right we'll have to face all those pesky giant locusts soon! They travel south as the season changes and eat everything In their path. My parents farm is usually pretty safe because we are closer to the walls but every year the ones near the outskirts of the guarded area lose plenty of crops." Gil growing up outside the walls would give the party a much needed informant in preparing for such a quest.

"Gil exactly right, I'm glad your party has someone knowledgeable. There is also the bonus of keeping the defeated giant locust bodies. There are not many valuable parts but the small amount of meat is a good source of nutrients for animals and often the army. However where the value truly exists is the wings which can make a strong roofing material for alchemists greenhouses. They allow light and heat through but will keep cold winds out allowing the survival of certain herbs over the winter. The only downside is that they do not often last a year so the more locust wings harvested the better." Clara shared a large amount of promising information.

"This could actually help us a lot, I would like to get a stronger shield if we are looking to take hunting quests and we would need to stay near the city for this quest. I fully support taking this time to strengthen our defenses." Sue, as always, looked at the facts and chose the logical path. However as their defender Walker knew she would always desire a stronger defense.

"Well first things first we just completed our first party quest and collected our gold. Let's see where we stand with experience and talk about any points we have. I'd like to hear what everyone's goals are for themselves." Walker was thinking of what they may need to prepare and getting everyone's input would be helpful.

" On that note I believe I shall return to the desk, if you would like I can add you to the field guard log now and you will be notified by your systems when you are needed?" Clara saw that it was best to allow the party proper privacy.

"Yes if everyone agrees I believe we would like to be added." Walker looked at the others who all nodded in unison

"Excellent I shall do so, I hope you all have great ambition." Clara left with a wink slightly energizing the party who were eager to share their goals utilizing their systems.

"May I start?" Su seemed to have already decided. With a quick nod from walker she continued. " the only thing I want since I got my system was the ability to protect those around me. I don't like to attack and hurt others so I put all my points toward defense ,magic defense, and hit points. This should make me an immovable mountain later on." She had a clear image of herself. The confidence in her statement was inspiring.

" I know you want to protect us but if you can't get there in time there's no point. I think putting some points in to your agility could really maximize your abilities." Walker had noticed this when she first accepted the party invite but knew that as lower leveled adventurers they would grow together quickly to fill the weaknesses they naturally had.

"I see that's a good point, a mountain can't move to protect a village..." Su drifted off in to thought as she searched herself for a better mental image of strength.

"Well mine is simple, I already have better skills towards hunting and archery not to mention silent movements through forests. I'll just discuss stealth and my damage. I want to balance my magic attack and attack. That way when I get to the magic arrow skill I can deal the same damage with a real arrow basically giving me endless ammunition. Along with the ability to escape. I think the term is sniper." Gil had actually been distributing his few stats properly but Walker was curious, "why have you added stats to charisma?" The question was well founded since it was the only outlier in his plans.

"Well seeing as I grew up in the fields I could have stayed there and hunted without joining the guild. But I need a safer environment not to mention the guidance of the guild so I don't fall in to the usual pitfalls of hunting alone outside the walls. So to that end I have always tried to add one or two points to charisma so It would help me join a party and get along inside the city." The reason was much more simple than walker expected but he was glad because having a little extra charisma could help smooth a rough situation.

"Honestly I think you've made smart choices, I worry about your defenses but I think that can be improved over time." Walker really didn't see any issues, he could see Gil becoming a great scout who could sneak up behind an enemy and land much needed attacks in critical situations.

"Obviously I'm going to be making enough money for the orphanage so all my brothers and sisters can attend the academy." Remey had said something to why should have expected but Walker still could imagine her yelling she wanted power.

"That would be the best way to rise in status. The academy graduation could easily yield them a title which allows for an easy life. Even if not they won't ever starve." Su seemed more knowledgeable on this subject than expected.

"That leaves the leader! Tells us your dreams and ambitions." Gil jumped in laughing at his own bravado.

Walker was thinking and could see many paths before him. He knew he would need to feed Midnight no matter what. He may not be a true tamer but since they had an equal bond he could not betray her trust. He would also like to support his family, his father has worked incredibly hard and deserves time to relax. However the drive to meet more people, see new things, and travel was a strong flame in his heart.

"I have responsibilities to support my family and help Midnight grow stronger. But through all the running around trying to find my system I've discovered a thirst for new adventures. So I will explore, maybe take Midnight to the mountains to find other dragons, I know the ruins to the south west have treasures so maybe there one day, and what kind of magic could I learn from elves if I could get through all those forests?" As he spoke more and more ideas came to mind he felt the need to write them all and keep adding to the list.

' the user has expressed a desire to store information. Through his actions the skill mental archive has been taken from the Scholars system.

Mental archive- 0 mana cost

Within you is a vast sea, shaping this sea there is an archive full of knowledge. You can store any and all information you consume within.

Would the user like to learn mental archive?' 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶

" oh this will be great I'll be able to remember maps while we travel. Yes, learn mental archive.!" The sudden outburst worried the others but they started to brush it off having a feeling walker would explain something cool soon.

'User has learned mental archive.'

Immediately walker felt his mind had expended. He could sense a space within him filled with bookshelves full of blank books. As his thoughts raced he could sense words appearing in him. The words of his companions and all his experiences written and ready to be recounted in an instant.

"I just got a skill, this will help us immensely. I wanted to remember everything I was thinking and everything you all said and suddenly I got a skill called mental archive. It records the information I absorb and records it in a mental archive basically to me it looks like a library in my mind. I guess I'll never be without a map." Walker ended with a slight laugh happy to share the good news of how he'll be able to help more.

"Well at least it's not another dragon or flashy space magic" Remey said releasing the tension in the room as everyone had prepared for something dramatic.

"So now that We've said what we strive for I think we should talk about gear we might need. I know I might be leaving you out of this Gil but the materials you gathered would most likely harm your skills. I think it might be hard to move around in heavier scale armor let alone be noisy".

Gil didn't look sad at all; he knew his speed and silence was an important factor to scouting and hunting. But he had been thinking about these scales as well and came up with an idea. "We should make Su a better shield, I think she will benefit more than most of us based on the strength of the materials, I also have a feeling it might be lighter than the shield she has." Walker immediately nodded in agreement and Su's usual serious face was showing a slight smile.

"We should strengthen those iron knuckles you have there too, Remey. If you're out dealing high physical damage we will be in a bind if they break." Walker jumped on to the flow Gil had started continuing it. "I also would like to see if I can have some sort of staff made, if I'm going to heal and support and even use attack magic later it will be important in conserving my mana."

These ideas formed a nice plan but there was one thing they needed to do to truly implement it. "I guess tomorrow we will be heading to the forge. I'm not sure if it will be easy to find someone who will work with us since we are lower tier but I think we can convince them by showing them the materials" with that walker gave them all directions to his home so they could meet and walk together. The excitement could be seen in every one of their eyes, visiting the forge as a lower tier adventurer was a big deal!

The day had definitely begun to fade as Walker left the adventurers guild saying farewell to his party. Midnight was quick to stand by his side constantly looking at her eyes absorbing new things constantly. Walker had hoped she wouldn't immediately rush to eat anything being sold on the streets as he knew how ravenous she was with the newts.

Due to the transition from day to night he was lucky to avoid the busier areas of the market. Once dark encroached the night life exploded as inns and other eateries opened their doors to drinkers.

Soon a thought began to emerge as he walked...how do I introduce a dragon to my family?

The shock of this though immediately stopped him in his tracks causing midnight to perk her head up and look around for danger. Walker had totally forgotten in his excitement and planning that he needed to explain to his family that he now had a dragon in his party! Not to mention one that was equally bound to him for life! The thought of terrifying his little sister caused his brows to crumple in worry. But he had to choose. He was only a few minutes walk from home and he needed to muster his courage no matter what!

It was time to meet the family!

"Wait right here at the door, I need to prepare them for this." Walker's voice had worry in it and midnight sat quickly unsure of what was about to happen.

The door opened revealing his father, mother, and Lisa sitting at the table just about to start eating. The spot walker usually sat and had a plate waiting for him but curiously there was also a dish on the ground.

"Well? Where's this dragon the guards rushed to tell me about today? You didn't leave it at the guild, did you? I was looking forward to seeing it again!" Garret said expectantly.

The frustration etched in Walker's face was tangible. He realized by going through the south gate earlier he had missed out on surprising his father at home. Well at least he could still surprise Lisa and his mother with how small and cute midnight was.

"Midnight! This is my family. Garret my father who you saw earlier, Hilda my mother, and my adorable little sister Lisa. Everyone, this is my new friend Midnight. Due to some unfortunate circumstances we've become bonded like family and we will be sticking together for a long time."

Midnight jumped in and ran to sniff and examine the new people feeling that it was safe to do so from Walker. Quicker than quick Lisa slipped from her chair grabbing the plate on the floor and placing it in front of midnight. The roast chicken was steaming hot and baked to perfection. The only feeling walker could notice from Midnight was ""food!"" Which made Walker feel like Lisa had planned this out to steal midnight from him.

With a small laugh " well if I don't follow their lead I guess I'll go hungry" walker went to his normal seat and began telling them of his first adventure. The feelings and descriptions poured out from him as his family saw how excited he was to see his party again tomorrow. The new skills were of only a small shock to his parents who he mentally prepared themselves for a huge shock just in case.

Dinner passed quickly and not surprisingly midnight took it upon herself to follow Lisa everywhere. Lisa seemed very happy with this development proclaiming midnight to be her new little sister.

"You know if she's your little sister that means you're not allowed to cry when we leave for a quest, she'll be looking at you as an example." Walker figured a bit of teasing was appropriate since he knew she might try to keep them from leaving the house tomorrow morning.

"I don't cry when you leave! You're just imagining it because you're jealous midnight is playing with me!" Lisa stuck her tongue out while closing her eyes.

"Please don't teach that face to midnight it's not as cute as you think it is." At this midnight gave a quizzical look while cocking her head curiously. "By the way don't you have some sewing to do? Don't you want to level up and make your new little sister something warm for the winter? Haven't you heard that dragons like to stay warm?" With this thought, Lisa's eyes grew wide in realization. How could she let midnight go cold, the snow would get here soon after harvest.

"Fine, I'll go practice but Only because I don't want midnight to get cold when you make her go out in the snow on quests!" Sticking her tongue out once more she ran off from the kitchen leaving behind a lost looking midnight.

"Don't worry she'll be back in the morning, now would be a good time to figure out where you want to sleep as well." After Walker said this midnight seemed to understand quickly and began walking towards Hilda's kitchen, a curious walker followed. Midnight curled up against the big stone oven. Walker knew if he so much as touched it he would burn himself but it appeared to be the perfect spot for midnight to sleep the night away. It had been a big day and it was understandable that she would readily sleep. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Following the lead, Walker found his way to his bed, and almost before his head even hit the pillow he was fast asleep.

Curiously he didn't dream, he found himself within his mental archive. Walker thought this strange at first but immediately began to think. Well, my body must be asleep. I remember going to bed and since this is just in my head I guess I can hang out here while my body rests.

The shelves were filled with an uncountable amount of books but as walker wandered and pulled out random books he realized most were blank. Some were full of things he'd said, he even happened across his conversation about his party's goals. The more he explored it however he noticed even previous memories from him searching for his system were present. He wasn't sure what this meant but was happy to be able to recall the attempts. Thinking of tomorrow's plans he looked at a book that had him wandering by the forge and he was curious what skills he might be able to acquire.

The temptations of unbreakable shields and Magic's swords would surely cause anyone to falter.

With these thoughts, he drifted off to sleep...

'Daily quest:

Find the three struggling blacksmiths and assist them in their system quests.

Reward:

All around appraisal skill, party 3exp. each'

As the fog in his eyes cleared, Walker read the notification and smiled. Today will be a great morning!

Realizing he could hear a bunch of noise in the direction of the kitchen he walked out to see his party gathered around the table. Gil seemed to have really hit it off and was talking with Garret, while Su was cleaning off some of Midnight scales with a rag. Remey surprisingly was talking to Hilda. "Finally you took forever, if miss Hilda hadn't offered to give me some bread to bring home with me after we go to the forge I would have left without you!" Remey was the first to notice walker but as he was about to speak." Moooovvveee!" Lisa ran past him with a handful of sandwiches, it looked like she had gotten everyone's breakfast ready while they talked. Well at least walker suspected his mother Hilda had made them and Lisa had only gone to gather them.

"Well I may be late to the party but it seems like a perfect time to eat and start our morning walk. We got a quest to do after all!" Walkers word brought everyone to attention since his party members had already seen the party notification that they would be helping the blacksmiths for experience .

Garret ran out the door faster than the rest since he needed to report to his job. Lisa tried to sneak out to follow walker and midnight but with a quick grab from Hilda, that plan failed quickly.

"Don't worry we'll be back later, maybe I'll even bring something nice back!" Walker's voice could barely be heard by Lisa as Hilda scolded her but Lisa would make sure her brother held up his promise.

The walk wasn't that long for the party since the forge was near the adventurers guild. The location made it easier for adventures to do business and since they were also near the alchemists building it was easy to understand why this was the main market street.

"So I guess our leader will be needing wake up calls." Gill's tone was serious but by the looks of his face, he was only teasing.

"He can wake himself up, I'll only be heading there to see Miss Hilda. Her bread will last long enough so we won't throw any out at home. I don't know how you could have kept this secret for so long." Remey gave a slight glare at Walker before looking away but Walker felt she was actually happy to have come this morning.

"I'm just glad Lisa didn't latch on to our legs so we couldn't leave, I'm going to see if I can pick her up a new set of needles. She has the seamstress system so one day she might be able to provide us with some nice clothing for more important quests. I might even get an older brother discount!" Walker laughs as he said the last part but Su was quick to cut in "don't take advantage of your adorable little sister. But to be fair it does sound useful knowing someone with such a system...maybe the scraps from our gear can make high quality needles for her. I'm sure as she grows she will easily wear out the tools quickly ." Su hit on some important meanings one of which was one the party would always have to remember; gear maintenance. A hunter without a bow is weaker, a mage without a staff is stunted, and a tank without a shield is without skills. Remembering to be prepared could be life or death.

"Well in the practice of preparation maybe I should buy some basic weapons in case something happens. I should be able to use any of them as long as they aren't master grade weapons. I should also take time one day to unlock a few more skills for attack and defense." Walker thought out loud prompting the others to go silent for a minute.

"You know you'll think yourself in to insanity if you don't put it all aside. We don't need you wearing yourself out since we just got here." Gil made a good point walker had become lost in thought and didn't even notice the large two story building. The forge had offices for those in charge on the second floor and a very large first floor with multiple forging rooms. The large grey smoke stacks carried mixtures of black and white smoke in to the sky. From what walker understood the basement was mostly their storage for ores, monster parts, and other crafting items along with fuel for the endless fires. The entrance was almost always open to release the heat that built up inside so seeing right to the front counter was easy.

The inside greeting room was simple, no chairs just an open space full of well worn woodwork lightly dusted in coal. Many people visited and often carried heavy weight with them causing a rugged look on the floors. It was not an uncommon sight to see someone covered in soot behind the counter since the lower level blacksmiths would take turns training and watching the front throughout the day.

Currently, a smaller but well muscled boy was behind the counter, he was cleaner that what was expected showing off slightly pale skin, dirty blond hair, and a face that showed welcoming features. He wore the usual leather apron and boots along with a tool belt giving the impression he was ready to jump to a project any moment.

"Hello hello there. The names Rodney and this is the forge...well I'm sure you could tell that but ya never know. So whatcha need? Armor? Swords? Magic stones?" This boy was a bit energetic but that's not a bad thing.

" Actually we're hoping to have three or four items crafted plus we would also like to help out while we are here." Walker spoke up quickly after accepting the high energy Rodney.

" sounds like a plan, I'll need to know what you wish to craft and what materials so I can escort you to the proper blacksmith. The prices will vary depending on what you need so I hope you're prepared." Rodney spoke as if he was very accustomed to the process.

"We are looking to have a great shield made, modify some iron knuckles, have a staff created, and if possible a set of needles made from the scraps. All will be made out of black crystal dragon scales and darkness crystals. The only item that really requires a crystal though is the staff the other crystals we have we will most likely save for future use." Walker had already planned out his order so he readily listed the necessary details.

"Alright so a great shield, knuckles upgrade, magic staff with a darkness crystal, and needles. Sounds good and all crafted out of dragon scal...DRAGON SCALES! Are you serious you have dragon scales!? Holy lord! You even brought a baby dragon with you!" Rodney had been going through the motions and it dawned on him that dragon scales had been brought to the forge let alone a baby dragon. This was incredible, he had been waiting for just this opportunity, he knew many in the forge that would try and steal this opportunity. He also knew two others who would fight tooth and nail for a single scale. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮

"Shhhh shhh you can't tell anyone I need you to come with me, I'll give you a really good deal to craft with those scales so don't worry." Rodney gathered himself and practically jumped the counter trying to whisper to Walker and his party to follow. The shocked and quizzical looks from everyone were quite funny, although midnight just seemed to be feeding off the energy and slightly bouncing around.

Rodney began leading them past many rooms to a large corner room with the generic forgoing tools. However the pit of fire was significantly larger along with a dark grey hammer that seemed to have been used for thousands of blows.

"Just wait here a minute I need to find someone, I promise this will be great. Just don't leave please please ok?." Rodney was almost jumping as he rushed out the door.

"Sooo anyone else know what's going on?" Gill was the first to break the silence.

"No idea but that guy has more energy that a horned rabbit." Remey made a very clear comparison cause if everyone imagined Rodney as a fluffy brown white haired rabbit bouncing through the plains.

Su couldn't help cracking a smile " well whatever is going on I have a good feeling. Although the happiest seems to be midnight". Su motioned toward the forge where midnight had crawled on to a shelf connecting to it and pressed as closely to the smoke stack leaving the room as possible.

"Well it does make sense, she should be able to breath flames at some point right? Maybe the heat will help her. If she learned a fire skill she could help out with things much more." Walker was imagining midnight releasing giant fireballs that could consume the heavens...he definitely got carried away.

Loud footsteps could be heard heading toward the room. Rodney burst in, "these are the ones with the scales they can help us I only told you two like I promised. It only took six months working the front to find someone!"

A large man whose body barely fit through the door and his reddish brown beard seemed to take up all his face only grunted in response. If this man was to speak would the building fall? This was the question the party was asking themselves. Behind him a smaller man who looked in need of a good meal wearing clothes obviously too big for him and almost the opposite was completely bald.

"OK so thank you for waiting, I know I rushed you in here but I promise this is very important. So I know you look like an adventuring party and I'm sure it's a reeeeeally awesome story about how your tamer got a dragon . But Later later." Rodney was speaking much too fast causing the large man to grunt again but in what's seemed to be an irritated manor. At that the skinny man stepped forward in front of Rodney even seemingly calming the high energy.

"First of all my name is Sherman, thank you for the time and stomaching this one's rudeness. I was told you're looking for some items to be crafter, my personal skill set is with magical staffs hence my system is the magical weaponry system. Now this fella here is Brutus he specializes in defensive gear his system is the protectors craftsman system. And of course Rodney there is an all around type with a blacksmith system. Now I know this is a lot but now to the point of all this, we have systems like most others but our quests require us to create and oftentimes we hit a snag where we are required to use certain materials. With that I'm sure you can catch on that we need to use dragon based materials to finish these quests. While I fear the next material will be even rarer it is plenty rare enough for smiths here in the lower tier of the city to encounter them. So in our and your interest we would be willing to negotiate a deal for our services." Sherman seemed to be the sort of man to lay out all the information first very up front.

"Ah I've heard of this with carpenters before, I once met one that was traveling to find a hundred year old willow so he could craft something out of it for a quest." Walker recalled an older man he had met while following his father to work one day. "So I see what benefits you all would gain, I'm sure by completing the quests you'll gain important insights in to your professions. My party is preparing to guarding the fields and require the gear we mentioned before to assist in our safety. Due to our current standing we are limited on funds along with materials so what can you do for us?" Walker seemed to go in to an unforeseen business mode remembering the merchants he had met who seemed to sneak their ways in to the heart and steal wallets with pretty words.

'Due to the users actions the passive skill negotiability has been taken from the stall owners system.

Negotiability- passive skill

When bargaining for deals the user of this passive skill always seems to tip the scale in their favor. Words flow more elegantly and even a rock could be sold as a gem.'

Walker was surprised by this but refused to show it on his face, this passive skill may not be too flashy but he would see if the results were noticeable. ｂｅｄ𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.𝚌𝚘ｍ

"I'll do it for free. My quest has stopped me from crafting until I use dragon materials, everything I try to craft cracks until I complete this quest. My system is mean but I've heard that one day I might be able to craft much stronger materials so I guess I can't be too down about it." Rodney was all smiles; he was the first one to answer.

"Hmmm" Brutus continued his streak of not speaking. I lay holding up his hand with five fingers.

"Ah well if Brutus only wants five gold I'll match that. It's really just for our time. Our quests aren't as strict as the boys but for Brutus I'm sure he will be able to advance his prices since his system guides him in such a manner. Mine is just limiting me from using my attuning skill which I use to adjust magical weapons. Overall we will benefit much more than any price we give but we can not afford to do something for nothing since we pay the master of the forge to use the spaces. So what are your thoughts?"

Well they thought they would have to fight tooth and nail to get what they wanted but to everyone's surprise the party had gained an amazing deal.

"It would be incredibly rude not to accept that offer, no matter how prepared I was to give you hell in a battle of words to get what we need," Walker responded with a firm laugh. "To be fair we will also be staying here to assist where we can if you don't mind? Unless you are all unable to begin working at this point in time?" Walker had closed the deal and even offered assistance however the smiths didn't know that it was also part of the party's quest as well.

"Yes please I'll take the help, the more the merrier I'll be making the needles and enhancing those knuckles I'll need two scales, one person to catch the trimmings I'll use for the needles, and the owner of the knuckles so I get the shape right," Rodney spoke up quickly, eager to get back to work and be down working the front.

With a nod, Gil and Remey began moving towards the door "hurry up kid my knuckles are itching for an upgrade so I can teach the kids a few morals back home." Remey looked like morels may mean fights but nobody dared say it out loud. With that, they could hear Rodney speaking way too fast all the way down the hall.

"From your gear I take it you will be using the shield?" Sherman asked Su directly

"Yes, that would be me".

"Good then follow Brutus and bring four of the scales, your shield will take the most due to its defensive needs. Lastly, I'll be taking two scales and a darkness crystal for the staff. We will remain here since this room is open." After that Brutus let out a Hmpff and turned around while Su quickly grabbed the scales from Walker and followed.

Walker brought out the crystal and last scales along with five gold for Sherman. "Everything looked to be in order, now that the crystal will be last, first we need to heat and shape those scales with some real metal. Using my combined skill they will fuse and share properties meaning I'll be able to pour and shape your staff then attach the crystal and begin Attunement." Sherman laid out his plan after taking the gold and moved toward a medium sized pot that had been scorched black by years of use. "Bring those scales and drop em in I'm adding the iron and some copper, maybe some extra carbon...or some...this too.." Sherman began adding small things to the pot mumbling to himself as Walker dropped the scales in to it as well.

Sherman continued moving around until "let's add just a little of this, and slide it right into that Forge fire we'll see how long it takes to melt down but while we wait how about you tell me what you were looking for in the staff?".

"Well, my party lacks magical damage so I will be filling that role. So I will need mana, and magic attack improvement. I chose the darkness crystal to add an element to the staff instead of a non elemental staff if that is alright?" Walker knew mana would be a problem but was remembering that having elemental attacks could be incredibly useful.

There were basic elements such as fire, water, earth, and air. Some rare combination elements like ice, magma, lightning. He also knew of darkness and light elements. Some rumors existed that there were, even more, extending all the way to space and time but the rarity was so high that they were most likely just myths.

"Good good all of those are doable and I can even promise to add the dark element to the staff without issue. Since your party seems to be young I would be willing to buy any additional darkness crystals from you. They tend to be more rare than the basic ones and I know a client who has been looking for one." Sherman confirmed but also surprised Walker by asking to buy a darkness crystal. Walker knew that the rarer the crystals the more expensive since he had heard of the basic elemental crystals selling for 80G as materials but he had no idea what darkness or its counterpart light crystals would sell for.

" I do have an extra and would be willing to sell it at market price." Walker pulled out the second darkness crystal and offered it to Sherman who smiled and reached for a pouch on his waist.

"120G is the current value due to its rarity in the area as of late. Here it is, I'm sure you'll cross paths with my client at some point as their darkness affinity is obvious in their gear and skills."

Midnight who had been resting silently was perplexed by the exchange for gold but suddenly stood up and returned to Walker side ""black food" was what walker felt coming from her. Pulling out the final crystal walker thought towards her "you want this to eat?"" Without a second of pause, Midnight snatched the crystal and swallowed it whole. This surprised both Sherman and Walker who witnessed a slight shimmer in her scales before midnight returned to her warm resting place to nap.

"Well I'd like to say it's strange but if that little dragon had black crystals her element may be darkness. I guess you gave her a pretty nice treat." Sherman laughed as he returned to the forge brandishing thick leather gloves giving the pit a shake. "Move that mold toward me it's time to pour!"

Without hesitation walker looked over at a heavy metal block with a small hole in it on wheels and pushed it with all his might toward Sherman. The second it was in place Sherman pulled the pot and poured molten white orange liquid in to the block's hole until it was full. Small black wisps came off from the metal as dust burned off.

"Get that coal over there and start shoveling. If this cools down too fast it will crack. We need to slowly lower the heat around it!" Sherman's orders were firm as he himself also threw some coal around the block and let it start to burn

The time passed slowly as Sherman would order for more or less coal and sometimes oil to be poured over the block as it could be slowly seen losing its heat. Walker was now roughly covered in black coal dust from head to foot, not surprisingly midnight looked the same. For some reason Sherman seemed to be clean though, walker wondered if it was a perk of his system. 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝙣𝒐𝒗𝙚𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝒎

More time passed and soon Sherman had stopped the orders completely and grabbed a large hammer swinging it down on the block separating it in to two pieces. The metal inside was revealed to be black iron with twists like a dragon's tale and an open claw at the top empty and waiting. Grabbing it with his gloves he lifted it up and in another had grabbed pliers. " hold the crystal in the center of that claw while the metal can still bend. I'll be attaching it there" Sherman spoke out again causing Walker to jump to it and carefully hold the crystal perfectly in the center of the claw. For every one of the five claws Sherman bent to touch the crystal it seemed to fuse more with the staff almost sinking in to it until the final claw touched causing shadows to dance in the flames of the fire welcoming the elements.

"Hahahaha perfect perfect now kid time for you to let your mana flow in to this black dragon staff. I knew the dragon claw mold would fit the crystal perfect all that's left is fitting it to your mana so there won't be any misfired spells."

Walker felt his mana begin to be sucked away in to the staff as a dark glow Emanated from the crystal.

'5 mana consumed. Black dragon staff has been acknowledged by the user.'

Black dragon staff- darkness element

Matk +3

Mana +10

"Well that was a bit of a surprise but it accepted your mana very easily, hmmm I would assume you were talented in the darkness element all along then. Well, anyways the item is finished and in a record time of only 5 hours too. If you happen to get more scales and crystals please ask for me so I can adjust this black dragon staff. If you give me the right materials maybe I'll be able to improve it to a grand dragon staff." The excitement of future prospects could be seen in Sherman's eyes but was quickly replaced with faint tiredness as he had used many skills in this endeavor.

' one blacksmith has been helped two remain'

The system prompted Walker that progress had been made so he said his thanks and goodbyes to Sherman while dragging midnight from her nap to find the others who were definitely still hard at work. This made sense to him since it could definitely take more time making a shield and also enhancing equipment. The enhancement needed to be shaped properly so taking that in to account slower work was definitely needed so Walker decided to follow the large thud sounds of a hammer to a larger door.

Upon entering the room walker saw Su in a similar state to him but she was wearing large gloves as well holding a large black shield with a similar texture to Midnight's scales. While she held it in place Brutus would come down with his hammer forcing the hot metal to finish taking shape.

"Well I guess they won't need me, and here I thought we could help" walker spoke to midnight while standing at the door and decided to take a moment of rest as he watched Brutus pick up the shield and plunge it in to a bath of oil with a sizzle.

"I saw that the quest updated so I assumed you were done, I should only be a moment leader." Su had noticed the two watching and confirmed the situation.

Before a few minutes had passed Brutus had dried and shined the shield with many different clothes and handed it to Su. Walker quickly checked the quest progress to see,

' two blacksmiths have been helped one remains'

The system had already taken the completion in to account.

"Hmm thanks," a deep voice in almost a whisper said, surprising the two but before they could react Brutus had begun walking out the door towards another room.

"Well I guess that leaves Remey and Gil then, my bet is they are right down the hall since I can just barely hear Rodney talking too much," Walker said with a laugh and he began looking with Su for the other two.

"Sharp needles are important but not on just one size, they need balance if it's not balanced there's no point. All weapons need balance or they.." opening the door Rodney's voice stopped and he jumped from the grindstone grabbing two packages. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴

"The knuckles will be cool in a moment and here are the sewing needles. I kinda got excited and made some throwing needles from the rest of the scrap. Cause why waste it right?"

Accepting the package walker mumbles his thank you slightly stunned Rodney had even done something extra. He wondered if Rodney would become a popular smith with his work ethic.

'Black throwing needles

Atk+1

Able to add poisons '

These needles looked pretty useful, they could be used for mid ranged attacks and even help paralyze a target if treated properly. Walker finally rested his eyes on Gil and Remey and found that they were much cleaner than himself and Su. This must be a side effect of only strengthening and not fully producing a weapon; less coal.

'All three black smiths have been assisted. The requirements for the quest have been reached.

Reward:

3exp each party member, all around appraisal skill.

Rewards have been distributed.

All around appraisal skill has been taken from the Master appraiser system. User has learned all around appraisal

All around appraisal - 0 mana

Can appraise non master class objects to a certain degree. Sometimes weaknesses to monsters, hidden skills, and other mysteries can be discovered through use.'

"Yes, we did it!" Gil was the first to chime out happy to get more exp and see the fruits of their labors.

"Check out these knuckles! I can hit things so much harder now." Remey was shadow boxing making it hard to see the new black veins in Her iron knuckles, there were even spikes on them too which would definitely cause some extra damage.

"Between my staff, your knuckles, and the shield I'm very happy. Not to mention two types of needles I was really surprised you could do this extra work, Rodney!" Walker was smiling ear to ear feeding off his excitement after reading the skill.

"Well, I need to do my best to build up a customer base now that I can craft! I hope to see you all soon!" Rodney began leading them out knowing they were dirty and definitely tired from the day of heat and coal dust. After waving goodbye, Walker was looking at a fruit stall and decided to try out his new skill.

"All around appraisal" walker said quietly not to allow his party to hear and tease him.

'Apple +.5 health

Nutritious and weak to worms. Rumored to keep the cleric away.'

Walker was interested in the addition to health upon eating the fruit but began theorizing it must be the healthy aspect and not all fruits would do it. He then realized this could be incredibly useful in discovering an enemy's weakness since it showed that worms were apples' weaknesses.

Smiling even more fully, the party was walking through the street more than showing off their new gear all the while covered in dust looking like they'd never seen a bath.

As the party parted ways due to their desire to clean up, Walker used his new skill on the shield and knuckles to see how they came out.

'Black scale shield

Def+5

Mdef+5 𝘣𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝘤𝘰𝘮

Hp+10

Crystal knuckles

Atk+10

Def+2

Possible bleeding'

Walker was impressed, he had an idea Su would want balanced defense but the addition of hp boost was a huge bonus to a defensive position. The attack on the knuckles was astounding not to mention those spikes must cause the possible bleeding which could help weaken strong enemies.

As midnight happily walked beside him observing his comical faces as Walker used the new skill everywhere he had an idea. Taking out the sewing needles he was curious what effects they might have after being crafted out of a rare material not often used for such needles.

'Draconic sewing needles

Agi+5

Self harm immunity

Elemental thread'

Walker stopped suddenly, midnight confused, and was looking at the house where she knew food was in the distance to Walker who was not moving. She didn't understand why he had stopped knowing he could eat soon. But walker was in shock not only did these needles improve agility but they could keep the user from harming themselves while sewing with them. The even bigger shock was elemental thread! This meant that as these needles were used for sewing they could impart elements on to the fabric. This could drastically change the worth of the item created. Walker knew that giving these to Lisa would promise her steady business in the future so he would not need to worry, however, he also knew she would be worried about mana at all times due to the requirements of using the item's skill. Mixed emotions of worry and happiness were obvious on his face.

He took another step wrapping the needles up again and prepared to give Lisa the gift of her life!

Upon entering the house walker knew Garret would still be at work and could hear his mother clattering away in the kitchen so decided not to interrupt her. Seeing Lisa in the kitchen with a swatch of fabric layer out in the shape of a cloak he wondered who it was for but decided that he would much rather show Lisa her new needles.

"I know you're hard at work so I guess I won't bother you with a gift right now," Walker smirked knowing Lisa would be completely enticed by these words.

"What! Of course I'm not busy at all, I'm just playing so I can accept a gift!" Lisa had jumped from the chair and ran to Walker pretending nothing was on the table at all.

"Well if you're sure I guess you can have this." He handed her the rolled pouch of different sized needles "these are called draconic sewing needles you'll be able to sew faster, never hurt yourself, and even mix the elements themselves in to your thread. Just don't over do it OK? No one wants to see you asleep at the table working too hard." Walker's words made Lisa's face become one of awe.

"These are great wait..." Lisa trailed off and looked even happier now "I just got a quest I get to use my new needles already. Just you watch brother, I'm going to make something amazing!"

Walker was surprised he had accidentally started a quest for his sister's system and it had completely absorbed her as she rushed to the table and began measuring and cutting at a furious pace.

Unknown to Walker his sister had just received a quest with the title 'a gift for a gift'. Titled quests were a rare occurrence for the systems it basically meant a huge growing point was about to occur for the user. Lisa had not yet realized this but when she completed it the rewards would surely become great.

As the time passed walker had cleaned himself up and recounted his days' adventures to the family explaining the new gears his party had. Lisa had cut in showing off the needles and telling Walker just to wait and see in a mysterious voice. Garret had returned late noting that some guards had been injured while guarding the fields and that this year might be tougher on the harvest. After eating they all cleaned up, Lisa rushed to her room to go back to work which was slightly unusual but Hilda remarked that the gift must be motivating her. Walker returned to his room finally ready to rest.

The next morning walker woke up normally and headed out to breakfast.

"A notice came for you this morning. It's on the table with a sandwich, that basket there is for you party members when you go to meet them." Hilda's voice rang out from the kitchen where she was cooking.

The letter had the official guild seal on it. Once opened Walker read that his party was requested for field patrol so he was required to report to the adventurers guard upon receiving the notice.

After he had read the notice twice just to be sure, he roused midnight from her slumber by the oven and headed out towards the guild. He was curious why he didn't see Lisa up as usual but figured she was extra tired from trying out her new sewing needles.

Walker proceeded to use his party chat function as he walked at a vigorous pace. The only one he had woken was Su who seemed to be a surprisingly slow starter. Gil had been wide awake being used to his mother's early farming hours and Remey was up due to the younger children at the orphanage.

By the time Walker was at the guild, he had half a sandwich left and tossed the other half to midnight who greedily ate it as if she was starved. But he knew well she had eaten a large helping of chicken and plenty of sandwich ingredients his mother had fed her as she was weak willed against Midnight's pleading eyes.

It only took a few minutes for the others to show up ready to go. It was time to meet Clara for the details.

The guild was very busy today, the fight to reach the counter was the toughest yet. Everyone seemed to be clamoring for a quest or other service.

The second Clara noticed Walker and his party she motioned for them to go upstairs showing four fingers. Walker led his party to room four and they all took their seats making small talk while they waited.

"So how many siblings do you have Remey? You've all met my sister so I figured I'd ask everyone." Walker had been wondering for a while.

" six younger two older . Five boys and three girls. The boys usually come to challenge me but the girls always run away cause they don't like fighting. I've told them all to try everything to find their systems but they don't listen without some tough love." Talking about her siblings seemed to make her much happier than any other topic. "I do know that Gil is an only child with how he acts he always wants attention." Remey stuck her tongue out at Gil as she said it to make a bigger impression lending Gil to menacingly grab an arrow from his quiver.

" I have an older brother but he left home a few years ago and hasn't come back. So more or less it's easier to think of me as an only child." This was a surprise from Su that no one expected. She always acted so astute and responsible that they thought her to be an only child the whole time. The look on her face said that was all she would share so no one pressed her for more. However, it was perfect timing since Clara knocked and quickly entered the room without waiting for a response. Her tired complexion spoke volumes to how the day had been.

"I think you need this seat more than me", Gil quickly stood up pulling out the chair as Clara more or less collapsed with it.

"So you've received your summons you party shall join the rotation today, as will many downstairs who are trying to apply now. We received news that there is a giant locust swarm headed this way. The guild will most likely issue a quest based off of how many killed per reward. The price is not always 2G for a giant locust. However, I do need to warn you if you see a female Also known as a jade locust run. Do not think just run. They are fast and their kicks can crush a grown man's skull instantly. That goes for midnight too." Clara finished by staring midnight directly in the eyes to make her point.

"Will our systems give us a quest do you think? Or is it just a normal guild quest?" Walker was curious if he could stack exp and gold rewards to level up faster.

"Most likely it will just be the normal guild quest, you should receive it once you leave the building. However, a great many adventurers will be out today so who knows what could happen. You may end up sharing space to protect the larger fields." Clara had slightly dashed Walker's hopes but he still knew that his party would be able to make at least 10G today.

"Your party shall start at the east gate and rotate to the north. Although it sounds like a large area the odds of completing the walk before encountering locusts is small. Most likely you'll be stopped at the second or third field. Do not be afraid to watch more experienced adventurers first, this is a yearly occurrence...well not normally do we get a swarm but that's why we increase adventures in such occurrences." Clara seemed to be done explaining.

"Well, it sounds like it would be the best practice to move out, although I don't see any reason for us to say this room is not being used any longer when we exit." Walker smiled knowing that Clara could take advantage of the time to rest as the party headed out towards the east gate.

' guild quest has been accepted.

Locust swarm is impending the party shall leave the east gate and patrol.

Reward: ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

2G for every giant locust killed'

"You know if we kill the locusts I'm sure they could be a good food source for midnight through the winter." Su had just had a brilliant thought. Causing Midnight to jump and prance ahead of the group hearing she would have a new food to try.

" that's a good idea, at first I thought we would just sell them for pig feed as most do but that sounds much better. We are pretty much being paid to strengthen a party member." Gil hit the nail on the head and the party had a renewed energy about them.

Quickly they got to the east gate and after registering that they were attending the position they signed up for began walking the roads used to transport grains and vegetables from the fields. Here and there they could see groups of adventures surrounding large locusts the size of a pony. They had brown and grey exoskeletons with black streaks throughout. Their large hind legs had sharp barbs and their mouths had small pincers that seemed perfect for eating any means of vegetables. They were definitely a plague for any farmer.

Upon viewing the sky the party noticed some very high up flying almost gliding over the fields seemingly not interested while others were spotted by adventurers as they descended to feed.

Walker using his keen eye was able to spot one and quickly notified everyone. "Su be ready ten feet in front of us that one should land. You'll need to distract it while Gil aims to fire and Remey gets close to crushing it. I'll try to hit it with a long range while Midnight, you get to its left side and use your claws." Walker had announced the battle plan and everyone was on the balls of their feet ready.

Su rushed forward as the locust landed "shield bash!" She pushed her shield forward stunning the locust causing it to stumble a bit as it had tried to land.

Gil used quick shot and hit it in its eye

"Eeaaaakkkk" the locust became crazed due to the pain but it didn't even have a second to rest.

"Pulverize!" Remey burst forward with her knuckles in a downward motion completely smashing the locusts' left front leg.

This attack caused the locust to move closer to Midnight who's claws using shred took its back right leg in to three pieces.

"Su back up I'm going to attack!" Walker shouted following that with mana shot.

The locust couldn't hold on as the blast hit its head dead on causing black brown blood to ooze out as it collapsed on the ground.

'2exp received due to locust death. 1 giant locust killed added to the current quest total.'

The party was all smiling and barely broke a sweat. This would be a rewarding day if they could remain steady.

The five continued on fight after fight easily finding their next target with Gil and walker in the lookout. They easily surpassed their goal of five giant locusts and after killing their sixth decided it was time to rest and recover.

The party found some nice rocks to use as seats and pulled out some no stale bread and water. They may have been a bit tired by the energy from chasing their goals that were fresh in their minds.

While they ate they were observing a spear man, infantry swordsman with a shield and a water mage take down giant locusts nearby. They had watched the three flawlessly fell two. The swordsman with sleek black hair and a burly build would halt the locust's movement, while the water mage with blue robes, glasses, and a very cliche wooden staff would use water in the shape of chains to hold them. After that set up the blond spiky haired spear man who looked lean and spry would land a decisive blow to the locusts head. The strategy was sound and fit perfectly for the three. After seeing them fell the second the party gave each other looks. They were all thinking; were we being out done?

"We'll rest another ten minutes to get our mana back to full then we'll show them who's the best!" Walker could feel the rising energy in the air and wanted to optimize the situation. Maybe it is better to have more parties around so we can push farther. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝑡

"GERALD! Retreat!" The shout from the spear man caused everyone to look up in haste.

Three giant locusts were currently ganging up on the swordsman but that wasn't the worst of it. A green hue could be seen on one. It had larger legs with more spines. The aura emanating from this jade locust was one of killing.

"Um, guys...that's not good." Gil could barely finish his sentence when the jade locust released a kick sending the swordsman flying in to the water mage with a loud crack. Bones had been shattered!

"Sister Gloria! Gerald!" The spear man was in a panic rushing to his now unconscious party members. They had been fighting for hours and were toward their end. The spear man Geoff was planning to rest with his party and walk back. They had claimed enough locusts and tagged them for the guards on patrol to pick up for the guild but now it looked like they would face their end. All for a few gold and exp...the two giant locusts with the jade locust saw this opening and turned to unleash a massive kick in Geoff's direction.

Thwack vvvrrmmmmm! A crazy loud metallic sound and vibration echoed out. Geoff looked up to see an immovable girl holding a black shield in front of him. Her face was scrunched up in effort after a massive blow that took half her health to block.

"Get ugh up and move you carry one my party will grab the mage." Su had relayed Walker's order. Remey had quickly lifted Gloria and the stunned Geoff came back to reality hefting up Gerald and slowly starting to head towards the wall...too slowly.

"Su! Guard them! Gil and I will be distracting these three until you're all far enough away!" Walker had issued the order while he and Gil ran opposite circles around the locusts causing them to turn in distraction. Midnight was circling the jade locust to distract it but the jade locust was smarter and realized its prey was escaping.

"Weren't these bugs supposed to eat plants!" Walker yelled at Gil.

"This green one is a female! It fights because it feels threatened it thinks you're going to kill its mates and young." Gil having grown up in the fields knew more. Gil was letting arrows fold towards the legs of the giant locusts in order to slow them down.

Walker immediately saw this and fired a mana shot towards Gil's target, noticing black streaks as he was happy that the staff was properly channeling the darkness element.

His mana shot was enough to put the locust Gil was facing to its side which allowed Gil to use quick shot three times sending arrows through its head leaving only one giant locust and the jade locust remaining.

The situation was not good, upon seeing its mate fall the jade locust unleashed a massive screech.

"Eeeaaaaaaaakkkkeee" this sound was deafening and midnight could barely stand. Seeing this walker ran as fast as possible to get in front of midnight with his leather shield. The jade locust kicked out "perfect block!" Walker used his only guard skill and was pushed back. The leather shield tore in half and Walker was left with 2hp. Midnight was in front growling in rage seeing her partner being harmed.

Walker saw Gil holding off the other giant locust along with Midnight's growing rage. He felt too weak to immediately stand and wasn't sure how he would survive. Midnight's growl reached a peak and heat waves could be seen emanating from her. She puffed up her chest and released a ball of black flames towards the jade locust. The jade locust was able to dodge most of the blow but Walker could see its back right leg was burning to ashes, severely weakening it. However, using this skill for the first time had completely drained midnight as she collapsed...she was an easy target.

Gil was stuck slowly whittling down the health of the other giant locust, midnight was unconscious and in the line of fire, and Walker was a step from death.

"Noooo! Get up Midnight get UP!" Walker's voice was hoarse with emotion. He couldn't watch midnight get hurt. It was unacceptable he needed to move.

'Skill unyielding has been taken from the hero's system

Unyielding- passive

The less hp the hero has the higher their matk, atk, agi.'

Walker stood up not even noticing the system notification. He brandished his staff and channeled all his mana within it. He was screaming from his heart for power that could crush this jade locust. The system answered...

'Skill mana desolation has been taken from the destruction god's system.

Mana desolation- 15 mana

Uses high amounts of energy to send a concentrated blast of unstable mana. The unstable mana destroys the very fiber of a creature's mana system, making survival impossible. '

A massive amount of energy usurped through Walker, the pain he felt from this was immense but he was numb to it due to his chaotic emotions. A ball of darker mana appeared before him condensed to the size of a marble then flew at incredible speed through the jade locusts body. The locust stopped and a blast of energy flew from its body. Walker had already collapsed, falling in to unconsciousness. The jade locust was devoid of life, its very mana system had been destroyed, its brain was mush, and any lingering life was soon to dissipate.

Gil had seen this and doubled his efforts using the last of his arrows and mana to kill the final giant locust with arrows to take it down. He fell to his knees along with the giant locust which has also fallen. Dragging himself up he dragged himself to where walker laid finding him to still be breathing Gil glanced up seeing Remey and Su rushing towards them with a group of guards and a few other adventurers. "Hahahaha I guess I can sleep now." Gil passed out next to Walker.

Su and Remey were red faced and panicked upon reaching them. Tears could be seen in the corners of Remey's eyes. Su had steeled herself for the worst but noticing the three breathing her shoulders slumped and she dropped the shield releasing all the stress.

With the help of a few guards and adventures, they were able to carry the three back to the walls. There were tents set up for injured adventures due to the season. Remey was able to get them In to a small tent with enough room for the three and along with Su took the time to rest while walker's wounds were treated.

After four hours walker's consciousness finally returned and he opened his eyes finding himself in a cot under a white tent. A cool evening breeze was felt coming from the openings and a bit of snoring from his left. Looking over he noticed Remey asleep in a chair next to Gil who was also on a cot with some minor scratches on his face.

Su was laying on the ground next to midnight with her head on Midnight's back. From the looks of it, she had cried herself asleep while caring for midnight. This brought a smile to Walkers' face knowing they were all safe and alive.

As he began to move slightly he realized his entire body was incredibly sore. Multiple bandages covered scratches and cuts. His left arm was wrapped heavily and upon looking down he saw the remnants of his father's leather shield. He winced at this sight knowing it saved his life but felt bad for losing it.

Knowing his body needed rest he didn't try to move, instead, he took a look at the system and was at a loss for words.

'2 giant locusts killed

1 jade locust killed

50 exp gained for out-matching the odds.

Hidden quest- heroic action was completed.

Rescued another adventurer party and defeated an enemy well beyond the party's strength

Reward: level up one level for each party member regardless of exp required.

The title has been awarded: each party member has gained the title Hero.

Title Hero-

Multiplies all exp for titles user. A hero's growth is the inspiration for all.'

Walker could not believe what had happened, he knew they had risked their lives but it was only what was expected that every adventurer should act the same. But a hidden quest? When's the last time the kingdom had heard of one happening? Wasn't it twenty years ago when a forge master had crafted himself a new hand using over a hundred ultra rare monster materials spending years in a desire to return to his peak. This kind of quest was unheard of. Let alone a title!? Those were only ever rewarded after amazing feats. The king's title was passed down generation to generation, it was said that a monster slayer title was given to an old hunter who single handedly took out a coven of vampires numbering over ten thousand, and even rumors of the elf that gained the speedster title by reaching an agility higher than any other in the world.

These things were enough to completely stun anyone no matter how strong their soul. Taking the advantage of time, Walker began checking the party statuses knowing he needed all the information so he could properly explain everything. Their lives were about to get much more chaotic now that they had a title. It was not something they could hide. From now on their quests would be affected and even those around them would receive quests related to their titles.

Walker- Hero

Jack of all trades system

Level4- 50/160exp

Hp-9

Def-5

Mdef-5

Atk-4

Matk-5

Char-5

Agi-7

Mana-15

Gear-

broken leather shield:

No bonuses

Black dragon staff:

Mana+10, matk+3, darkness element

Su- Hero

Shield bearer system

Level 5- 50/320exp

Hp-16

Def-15

Mdef-15

Atk-9

Matk-6

Char-6

Agi-6

Mana-12

Gear-

Black scale shield

Def+5, mdef+5,hp+10

Remey- Hero

Brawler system

Level7- 50/1280exp

Hp-16

Def-16

Mdef-8

Atk-21

Matk-8

Char-7

Agi-19

Mana-18

Gear-

Crystal knuckles

Atk+10,def+2, bleeding possibility

Gil-Hero

Ranger system

Level5- 50/320exp

Hp-8

Def-7

Mdef-7

Atk-13

Matk-13

Char-11

Agi-13

Mana-14

Gear-

Worn basic bow

Atk+1

Basic arrows

Atk+1

Midnight- Hero

Black flame dragon (hatchling)

Level2- 50/200exp

Hp-105

Def-55

Mdef-55

Atk-80

Matk-80

Agi-35

Mana-55

Gear- none

New skills-

black fireball

An incredibly powerful dark flaming ball consumes all mana and causes the target to burn in to ashes upon contact.

This skill black fireball must have been what Midnight's used. Maybe she needed to eat the darkness crystal to help her gain it. Walker had been stumped as to why Midnight had eaten that crystal for sure but the theory that she needed it to strengthen her inner flames seemed sound.

We definitely need to get Gil a better bow and maybe some arrows that he can infuse with magic. Walker kept thinking more and more about how they could improve so they wouldn't get hurt again. Soon he noticed Gil Laying in bed pointing at Walker so Remey would notice Walker's ramblings. Walker's face flushed a deep red, realizing he had most likely woken them and looked a bit of a fool. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝘯𝑒𝘵

"Sooo umm nice job on that giant locust..." Walker said to Gil after a moment.

"Pfft No way you'd be hogging all that glory" Gil's instant retort was enough to raise midnight and Su back to the land of the awake.

Midnight stood shakily, the effects of using all her mana were clearly stronger than that of a humans. It was an important fact Walker would have to remember. "Midnight don't worry about getting up. I know you used a lot of energy. But you can never do that again! Why would have happened if no one else was there?" Walker was happy midnight was awake but seeing her in this state made him sad so he knew he needed to reprimand her so she would be safe later. In response to this, Midnight took a few steps closer and laid back down without enough energy to fight or retort. Su had made it back in to her feet and pulled up a chair with a serious face.

"You two rushed in to battle to hold them back and you being the leader I trusted that you three would be OK. But it was reckless; the recommended course of action was to run on sight of the jade locusts! Not that I would have left those other three to die..." her energy from the first two sentences fails as she admitted she would have readily done the same all over again.

"Exactly! We may have done the same thing but you three should have retreated sooner. Hmpf I don't know what's wrong with men and trying to be tough it's pretty lame." Remey was obviously more happy than angry at the three as she showed her heart on her sleeve.

Gil had drawn a confused and surprised face "so leader...are going to explain this?"

"Ahm uh yea so some stuff happened and we have a title..."

"Ha! That's a good one you just said we had a title. I'll have to use that one on my parents. They'll laugh until they fall down." Gil was laughing like a fool while he propped himself up.

Walker sat up and looked at everyone with a stern face. "We completed a hidden quest by killing a monster much stronger than ourselves while rescuing others. Now we all have the Hero title. We also gained a level up each. Not to mention the hero title gives us experience multiplier; that part confuses me but I'm sure we will start to understand it once we get back out to the fields...well tomorrow that is since it looks pretty dark outside now." Walker was scratching his head feeling awkward as jaws dropped...even Midnight was looking at him wide eyed. For a human or other race to get a title such as hero, it was unheard of but imagining a dragon having it was something that could change the heavens themselves.

"So what's going to happen..." Remey trailed off now showing worry in her voice.

"No idea this is unprecedented, I think we should keep it quiet for a while and figure out what it means. Then if others start to notice we can come out and say it but I think the guild will be able to protect us while we grow if we speak to Clara. Actually, I know many parties get a manager from the guild when they get to a higher tier, maybe we should ask Clara she's been a huge help so far." Walker had been thinking about a manager for a long time knowing that their situation had become very unique and the title had been the final link to make the move.

"That's a good idea, protection will be important. If we can't figure it out and protect ourselves other kingdoms could try and drag us without our consent." Su made a good supporting point as always. The thought of being kidnapped and dragged to an unfamiliar land was enough for Remey and Gil to immediately nod. Even midnight had moved a little closer feeling the weight of the situation.

"My thought is we can rest a bit more and gather our thoughts then head to the guild. I know it's going to be past dark by then but since adventurers work all day and night they never close." With that walker rested his head again preparing himself to forge a contract with the guild. 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝑜𝑚

After resting a bit longer they all were ready to get up and moving, midnight still swayed a bit but was ready to get moving. As they exited the tent noting that they were near the South Gate now, they noticed two figures waiting nearby.

It was the water mage Gloria and Geoff the spear man. Their third party member Gerald was missing which was not a surprise noting he took the biggest blow.

"Thank you!" The two bowed to Walker's party. Geoff took the lead " if you all hadn't helped we wouldn't be here today, I know it was risky and I can see the injuries caused on our behalf. We were only a party of three but we were not wise and pushed ourselves too far and couldn't run from the jade locust. We could never properly thank you enough but as a start, I hope you know you can always call on us if you ever need anything." Geoff's emotions were welling up within him.

'Adventuring party triple G has registered you as their ally. User party chat function can now communicate with the leader of triple G.'

"Triple G?" Walker was confused but then it dawned on him.

"Yea that's us, we made that name since the three of us all have names that start with G! Can you please tell us your party name?" Gloria the water mage has spoken up despite the obvious bruising to her face which was surely painful at the moment.

"Umm to be honest we haven't made one yet...but we will have to figure that out soon especially now that we've gained an ally. It would be kind of sad if you didn't know who to ask for" walker was stunned how could they forget to name their party of all things!

"I hope we can be the first to know your party name in the future then! By the way, I sent a guard to notify the guild of your deeds and also had those two giant locusts along with the jade sent there so you wouldn't worry. I thought it the least I could do. I know it's impolite to run but Gerald is still resting and we need to be there when he wakes up, sadly he broke an arm so it will be a week or so of healing before he will be back to snuff. Thank you again we owe you all our lives!" Geoff and Gloria gave another bow and turned to rush back toward another tent, Walker could swear he saw tears falling down their cheeks as they turned.

With that they continued through the gate and towards the adventurers guild. Upon opening the door they were greeted with a ferocious glare from Clara.

" Well look who decided to come to report! I guess listening to my advice was too challenging." The scolding was heartbreaking, the party didn't expect Clara to be so angry "room 13 is open I'll be up momentarily." Without a second glance Clara went to a filing cabinet and began riffling papers. Walker led the way and the party went to room 13 everyone was nervous except for midnight who took the opportunity to nap.

The door opened slightly bouncing in the wall before Clara closed it firmly they knew they were in for trouble. "Now walker explain what happened!" He immediately recounted the situation leaving out the hidden quest rewards as not to shock her immediately.

"Yes, that matches the first report I received. Our systems recorded a total of 9 giant locusts and a jade locust being killed. We will sell the wings for you to the alchemist guild, you will receive 18G for that. The rest of the bodies are up to your decision." Clara had gone in to business mode but was still showing a scary glare.

"Thank you very much miss Clara." Walker was going to act very polite before dropping the big news. "My party has discussed this and we understand that some parties get managers from the guild. We believe you would be the best option as we have seen how skilled you are in your daily efforts. I hope you can consider us." With a slight bow he could see a slight smirk spear before she caught herself.

"Maybe once you're a silver tier adventurer party, that usually the lowest managers will be assigned." Clara's business took over again but Walker wasn't done.

"Actually the reason we are looking for one so early is fairly dramatic. Please prepare yourself this may come as quite a shock...we kinda got a hidden quest completed and...well...we have titles now..." walker became nervous the more he spoke seeing as Clara's poker face was too tough at this moment.

"Well that explains a lot." Clara stated plainly

"Ummm what?" The party said in unison completely confused.

Walker was dumbfounded, he had prepared to completely blow Clara's mind but instead all his built up excitement deflated.

"But what do you mean makes sense?" Slightly recovering Walker was now letting his curiosity grow.

"Well I got a system quest. Since it was a titled quest called "fostering a young hero" I figured it would be a big deal. Also looking through some very old guild records I found that a hero is sometimes a system or a title. So I expected someone with a hero system to appear. However, it's fairly surprising that all of you gained the title. You just may all shock the world luckily I was prepared." A small giggle was released from her lips as she said the last part since she felt she had accomplished, a fitting revenge on those who didn't follow her guidance.

"Well, I'll also take your party under my management seeing as you would be the first. Let me just set it up I'll need your party name?" Clara flowed flawlessly in to the primary goal.

The party was stuck, they had been thinking and bouncing ideas off each other the whole walk to the guild and had nothing. Not a single good idea.

"Well, I'm not an omnipotent goddess I can't just leave the name blank and still register your party." Clara had realized they were stuck and attempted to push them to a decision.

"Let's go with that!" Remey immediately perked up " omnipotent sounds good we can do anything we even have a leader with like, infinite skills and we have a literal dragon!" The excitement was contagious soon the whole party was smiling even midnight had roused from her nap enough to huff quietly at the name.

"Our party name is Omnipotent,'' Walker spoke up, finalizing the decision.

"Well umm OK I'll set it up." Clara was a bit hesitant but proceeded after seeing their looks

'Party has been registered as Omnipotent. The party known as omnipotent has been registered as managed by the adventurers guild first floor manager Clara. Does the user and leader of omnipotent accept?'

"Yes, I accept!" Walker quickly accepted.

"Perfect now I can look in to directly sending you quests to browse and decide on taking without you having to sit down and accept a quest every time. Also, I will be notified when you reach requirements for completion so that I can move forward with preparing rewards and other such activities. You will also have the ability as party leader to contact me to speak on details and I will be able to do the same." The benefits Clara gave them as a manager were very good for any party and Walker understood why getting a manager became a requirement. Not to mention once one was silver or higher tier parties often gained fans who would disrupt them as they entered the guild.

"We also have realized that our titles as you demonstrated can't stay secret forever so we find it safer to request your guidance. We already know the guild has experience in this realm as they often protect those with promising talent or nobles." This was a very important reason for their meeting with Clara, once word got out not only would stronger people try to take advantage of them but also other countries as well.

"Yes you are correct in knowing I can arrange that for you, we have many higher strength individuals that have retired from adventuring to become an employee of the guild. Some as such have amazing abilities to guard those without even their knowledge. Rest assured the adventurers guild wishes nothing more than your safety and growth and even at the event of a catastrophe will be there to assist."everyone's stress dissipated a bit after hearing her words. They had thought some stronger employees would be sent to guard them but hearing that they would be able to do so without change to their party adventures.

"I hate to rush you all out but I'm going to get very busy arranging everything properly. I recommend heading home and not spreading a word just yet. I know it may seem exciting but as you know it could be dangerous." Clara seemed eager to jump in to her work even though the night was upon them.

"In that case, we will do just that, I know everyone needs rest after today plus who knows what tomorrow will bring. I know we will meet early in the morning to look at a quest, it's too bad we can't go out after more locusts but we can't take other parties chances it wouldn't be fair." Walker was slightly dejected but knew that he would only become hated by other parties if he somehow weasels his party in to another day guarding the fields. But he knew getting out together was the best way to shake off the residual emotions from their chaotic day.

After saying their goodbyes the party split up heading home for the day. By the time he returned home Walker's family was all asleep. Lisa had fallen asleep at the table working on something and he quickly carried her to bed. After completing his task he went to bed himself too tired to even look at what she had been so engrossed in as to fall asleep at the table.

...

Within a study full of books and a large oak desk an older man in about his fifties was in luxurious white nightclothes reading from piles of documents. The man had long white hair and a serious face with the lines set in after years of using a poker face. He pulled documents from stacks that seemed to defy gravity mumbling every so often before scribbling a note or two. Every once in a while the man would check his candles and continue working. Seemingly stuck in a problem he began to pace and read a map "could go north...dragons...but the craftsman...the forests are too big... Safe away from the swamps and ruins...but they ancient artifacts...not sure...beast man maybe...definitely not demons..." the man trailed on mumbling words ever so often as time passed. The weight of the world seemed to be on his shoulder until a small notification pulled him back to reality.

' the kingdom has been blessed with five who have gained the title of hero. The title quest blessing of the king has been issued to the user. 𝐛𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Requirements: bless the five who hold the hero title and assist in their growth. The duty of a good king is to seize the opportunity in front of themselves and push their kingdom to the top.

Rewards: none'

The man had frozen on the spot a map falling to the floor. This quest offered no reward but having a title bearer in the kingdom was more than any reward let alone five! With the energy of someone twenty years younger, the man bolted from the room. As he got farther and farther the sounds of shouting could be heard waking others in the night.

The morning had come, as usual, however, Walker and Midnight had slept a bit later than everyone else. So much so that Walker was just getting to the kitchen as Garret left for his work.

Upon seeing Walker, Lisa bounced up with a smile "good morning!" And promptly ran to her room. Walker was even more curious, was her work that important right now? He began to think of his sister as a different person.

Midnight seemed to have already eaten as his mother had been working in the kitchen all morning. Everyone seemed to have gained a weakness for feeding Midnight. Walker grabbed some bread from the cupboard and began to eat while noticing Clara had sent him some possible quests in a new section of his system. Looking through them there were three that stood out; one requiring the party to assist supply delivery from the adventurers guild to the alchemist building which was an expected quest due to the influx of materials from the locust swarm. The second was a gathering quest for various herbs near the Sun hallow forest, the main being a yellow flower known as sunflowers which grew wildly in the area due to the sun and warmth of the area. It is used mainly as a cooking ingredients and ground in to oils for other potions. The third was a reoccurring quest to head to the garbage facilities and exterminate giant rats, this may make an acceptable pay due to how gross the job was but Walker couldn't feed something so gross to Midnight and personally didn't want to smell like the facilities.

The only one that stood out was the gathering quest, the party would be able to take some time off of fighting and focus on something more normal for their tier. Not to mention taking a few extra for Hilda.

After thinking for another moment he decided to accept it and prepared to gather his party for a relaxing day.

In the upper floors of the guild.

Hushed voices could be heard in rapid conversation.

"So you'll be their manager good good, I sent a few shadows to guard them already but I'm sure we don't have long before something happens. Nobles and even royalty will make their move soon." A strong deep voice said.

Clara could be heard responding, " yes sir, putting them together was really a great decision. They may be young now but within a few months, I expect their progress to explode. I worry that once royalty makes their move they may try to monopolize them but having your backing guild Master, will protect them."

An older man's voice chimes in at this point "if they grow fast they will soon be going farther and farther for their quests. We know heading to certain areas is safer than others due to which kingdom rules. The beast-men may be more hot headed but not much to worry about, dwarves can't be bothered to leave their mountains not to mention any of the wise dragons. However, the elves and demons could be a problem. Those elves may try to gain them to continue their fights against the demons. Same for the demons but the real worry is how sneaky they can be. Honestly the line between demon and monster is way too thin these days."

"It may be wise to reach out to the castle ourselves then, we can establish an understanding early so when other kingdoms come knocking at the door we are United." Clara saw the opportunity they now had and this seemed the best course.

Back to Walker who he now made it to the South Gate

"According to the quest we need five bundles of 10 sunflowers and two pots of the roots. Think taking a few extra to bring back for ourselves won't be an is a note that we shouldn't take too many from one location so we will need to spread out our efforts." Walker gave the final review of their requirements.

The reward may only be 5G each but the exp will also be higher due to the nature of the quest which was lacking as 10exp each by their systems.

Overall walking to the area was not too tough and they quickly spotted the tall yellow flowers. Midnight didn't seem to be interested as she began hunting for newts in the area however that proved harder than expected due to a few clouds blocking the sun. She soon gave up and began following Su, as Su was walking to find the best flowers to pick.

Gil and Remey had Taken up the process of harvesting the roots while Walker quickly managed to assemble four bundles. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹．𝐧𝐞𝘁

'Benevolent harvesting has been taken from the herbalists' system Due to users' repeated actions. Would the user like to learn benevolent harvesting?'

"Oh! Yes," walker was surprised not expecting a skill, he couldn't help but shout it out.

'Skill benevolent harvesting has been learned.

Benevolent harvesting- 0 mana cost

When harvesting various plant life the user is able to take from the plant in a way that allows the plant to grow back in a stronger and more efficient manner. Long term pruning can lead to overall better quality growth.'

This skill did not seem very important in the short term but if Walker was able to take the time to return here this skill could greatly influence the growth of sunflowers let alone any other plants he harvested in the future. Upon thinking on this subject he decided he will bring a few flowers to harvest seeds for planting and ask Gil's mother for assistance come growing season.

There was a slight breeze pushing the clouds along leaving the party in a relaxing atmosphere. After a few more hours of harvesting they had gathered the required 5 bundles and an additional five one for each of them along with two pots of roots.

The trip back was a bit tougher with the additional weight not wanting to damage the flowers by placing them in walkers inventory. But there was no problem traveling all the way to the guild. Clara had already prepared the reward and was awaiting them at the counter.

"Welcome back, I'm glad you chose a gathering quest today. I'm sure it did wonders to work away the stresses of yesterday. Please follow me to room 1 and quickly complete the quest after I examine the herbs. After, I have someone I would like to introduce you to." Clara flashed them a brilliant smile as she began leading them upstairs.

Quickly entering the meeting room Clara had the party lay the required items on the table and filled out a paper attached to a clipboard.

"Perfect, quality appears to be high in each one, it seems you all take great care in finding the best." Clara was impressed seeing that there were almost no damages nor growth deformities in the flowers. This was often an issue when young parties went to gather due to inexperience.

"Now that it's been accepted I will have someone else come to collect them since we have something else we must do, please follow me to the top floor." Clara left the paper with the stems and went towards the stairs.

"Wait on the top floor?" Gil was confused, wasn't the top floor for the guild masters office?

Clara didn't turn around and proceeded upwards the party on her heels. Soon they reached a spacious area with a few desks with various people filling out paperwork. At the end of the room was a wood door with finishing from every entire tier plaque. There were even platinum markings.

Clara knocked on the door and slowly opened it. "This is the omnipotent party as requested by the guild master!" The introduction was a surprise but even more shocking were the two men in the room.

An old man who appeared frail with long white hair and a long white beard was seated behind a large desk. His body feigned weakness but his eyes said that he could crush them. Next to him was a very muscular tall man wearing silver and gold armor. He had a few scars covering the left side of his face making him more intimidating. His hair was a brown color and his face was showing an aloof personality.

"Ah yes, young walker, Su, Gil, Remey, and you're Midnight I take it? Come in come in we have been waiting for you." The old man seemed to have already met them knowing their names and whose appearance belonged to them. "I'm sure you're wondering why we've walked you here but first things first, I am Ibis. You may know me better as the white Ibis due to my past adventures. To my right is Barry comically known as the berserk Barry. I would not recommend putting him in a bad mood." Ibis chuckled at his joke.

"Old man I told you not to call me that, I know your memory fades in your age but try to remember, you may even write a note." Barry retorted while Ibis smiled devilishly.

"Oh don't worry I won't beat you down in front of the young heroes here. Naturally, that is why we called you." Ibis flawlessly transitioned back to the party at hand " I know you requested assistance in protection and the second Clara became your manager we sent that protection out. We here at the guild like to protect a bright future. So in that matter, we've decided to introduce you to the castle, well specifically you will be meeting the king. The title you received makes you very wanted commodities all over the continent so I hope you understand forging a relationship with the government to a stronger degree will allow more protection. Not to mention whether you like it or not royalty will become involved. The only question is will you tread that path alone or accept the guild's ability to introduce you and back you?" He had laid out many things that sounded scary to the party. They had never imagined meeting a king in their lifetime.

"If we were to go about this alone I fear my friends and I would be swallowed by greed and torn apart. But can the guild prevent this?" Su was the one to speak up, beating Walker to the punch. But she spoke about the feelings of the whole party.

"You know we have many powerful adventures with many systems. We have the strength to protect and back you making up for the lack of noble blood. Not to mention the adventurers guild had been called in to military matters many times in our history making us well respected. Any who would dare to go against us, even the king could breed unrest."Barry's deep voice surprised them, not expecting him to sound so bold.

"Now a few rules. Do not accept anything from other nobles; they only will try to bend you to their will as political gambits. The king will most likely do the same however you can accept his offers. Unlike the nobles, he already has the power and will use his offerings as a way to boost your standing and most likely shore up his foundation with the people. Those people who are happy seeing a hero let alone five rise from among them will plead to the king. This means you will all represent the people and must act as such. I do not expect perfection however as you well know your actions are observed by all." Ibis had become very serious.

It was clear that nobles were not necessarily trustworthy but that made sense they had too much money and a lot of power. The idea of representing the people greatly appealed to the party since they had come from different areas of the lower tier of the kingdom. Gil saw this as an opportunity to shore up the foundation of the fields. Su was just happy to have her new party protected. Remey was thinking of possible expansions for the orphanage. Walker was imagining a new home filled with everything his family could possibly need. Midnight well she was thinking about food...not a surprise. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟ｅｌ．𝚌ｏ𝚖

Walker took a step forward "we would like the adventurers guild to back us. Please sir if you could introduce us to the king before they come knocking at our doors we would greatly appreciate it." He knew he didn't ask permission to speak for the whole party but looking side to side he saw them nodding in unison with determined faces.

"Ha! Good good we'll leave now; Barry and I are coming to, Clara you shall be in charge while we are gone. We have an audience with the king in an hour. I scheduled it once Clara notified me you would be returning." Ibis was a sly man knowing the party would have to accept his proposals.

Clara smiled knowing their plan had succeeded. She was also happy that her new party would be safer. Her fortune in being placed to assist them had helped her immensely in the struggle within the guild to move up. She may not have the level and stories of a retired adventurer but bringing these youths to the mater she had solidified a path upwards.

On the other hand, the party who began following Barry and Ibis towards the inner walls had realized this was all planned from the start. Since it benefited them they were not overly angry however they still felt a bit roughed up about it.

Luckily the walk to the inner gate was not an arduous one and being adventurers they were used to such activities. Ibis was surprisingly quick in his feet, quickly betraying his frail looks. Walker had begun to remember some of the stories behind his name white ibis.

If he recalled correctly white ibis was a summoner who could summon all matter of avian elementals. However, the name came from a minor battle with a horde of undead from the ancient ruins where he used a light elemental Ibis bird to completely wipe it out. Some called the bird the holy ibis. His strength was enough that the army sent with him didn't even raise a sword instead they became a mere escort. After that many smaller tales of him going to take out small swarms and hordes of monsters became commonplace however none as amazing as the first.

On the other hand, Barry the berserk was younger by many years and the tales about him were a bit more grim. He had made his name as a solo adventurer going to small villages near the river to the east where orcs often attacked travelers. A platoon of soldiers had been sent one year due to escalated numbers and came upon Barry fighting a high orc. There were bloody bodies everywhere around him as he wielded two large double blade axes. They said they were unsure if they looked upon man or beast in that moment as Barry had become a killing machine. The personality he had was fairly pleasant but in battle, it seemed he was brutal beyond measure. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚘ｒｇ

These two clearly had the means to become the master and vice master of the adventurers guild from stories like that. However the presence they exuded as they approached the gate made the guards and passersby stand up straighter and hurry their pace. It was as if they all recognized an unseen strength.

Upon reaching the gate walker was brought back to reality and noticed there were more equipped guards here than the outer walls. This may not have been a major difference but it was enough to be seen Barry held back as Ibis passed through the gate the guards had stepped aside recognizing the legends before them. After the party had gotten through the gate Barry followed behind as if guarding from the rear.

The site of the inner walls was astounding. The buildings were larger with courtyards full of flowers or training spaces. The market stalls were much cleaner and held higher quality items. There were significantly more carriages moving through the streets. Even the bricks on the streets were a nicer speckled grey then the dark bricks in the lower tier.

"Are we even in the same kingdom?" Remey was struck with a sense of being elsewhere accidentally saying her thoughts out loud.

They continued following Ibis while noticing the people walking around dressed in much higher quality fabrics than anyone in the lower tier who would often wear their work clothing. Passing nobles with swords or staffs would nod to Ibis and Barry but quickly glare at the party after seeing where they had come from.

They felt as if on display, just some entertainment for the nobles to look at. It was a gross feeling making Walker's skin crawl. Seeing that Ibis was picking up the pace they quickly followed trying to ignore the looks of those they passed.

The sight of a massive castle soon completely filled their view. The towering grey stone sparkled as if filled with diamond. The roof shimmered with gold. Stone gargoyles and dragons adorned the eaves and windows as if protecting each one. The front door was equally ornate carved from some black wood of unknown origin. They started to swing open as Ibis approached and a guard in white trimmed armor approached.

"State your purpose today sir Ibis." The guard required the reason before admittance.

Ibis quickly pulled the guard close and whispered to him their reason for arrival as not to alert any unwanted attention. Without a second of pause the guard motioned for others to escort the guests inside as a precaution.

Entering in to the front courtyard they witnessed the most advanced training ground they had ever seen, there was even room for tamed beasts as large as a house! Many elites were practicing different tasks but the party was rushed in to the inner castle before they could observe more.

The inside of the inner castle was lavished in paintings of royal families and ornate furniture. The tapestries were of the highest quality. They were soon lead to a double door,

"Now do not speak unless spoken to is that understood? And bow you will need to bow." Ibis said and began to open the door before they could respond.

The door opened and it was as if they had seen a new world. The room had fifteen or twenty people all aids to the king standing to the sides watching the door. Guards lined the walls prepared for anything. A purple carpet led directly to a platform on which four thrones stood two large and two small. These thrones were carved from crystal and adorned with an almost shimmering fabric. Only two of the thrones were currently occupied. The center was the king August Bernard Diamond and to his right the queen Marian Alda Diamond. The party gulped back their nervousness and proceeded forward.

The king had a steady face with strongly set lines from years of using a poker face. His hair was long and white due to his age but he was only in his fifties and expected many years more. He wore clothing of unmatched quality in comparison to all but the Queen. The Queen had curled black hair and warm features but her eyes threatened destruction to those that wronged her. Both king and Queen were slim and fit of average height.

"Hello, my king I Ibis and Barry of the adventurers guild greet you along with these young ones." As Ibis made his greeting there was a stir within the attendants and nobles within the hall noticing a dragon, a few guards brought their hands to their weapons.

A man with long brown hair and flamboyant clothing stepped forward. Clicking his tongue he motioned for guards to step forward. "Remove that ugly monster before it causes the king harm! It's disgusting to think you would bring such a thing here of all places.!"

Upon hearing this midnight lowered herself ready to pounce. Walker pulled his staff from his inventory and stamped it down causing a loud echo through the room. "Midnight calm down! You are better than him, don't allow him to push you to anger!" His words immediately calmed Midnight who responded by relaxing and wrapping her tail around one of his legs.

"You commoner, have no right to speak as such let alone bring out a weapon! Guards!" The man again pushed the guards forward.

Walker had become agitated, they came to meet the king yet some idiot instead tries to have a member of his family harmed? He wanted to push them away to make them feel the fear Midnight did. Walker felt that she thought she would die like her mother. Feeling her tail tighten around him he grew more angry.

' Due to the users desire the skill dragon's intimidation has been taken from the black crystal flame dragon system. Would the user like to learn dragon's intimidation?'

"Yes" walker said between clenched teeth

'Skill dragons intimidation has been learned.

Dragon's intimidation- 1 to 5 mana cost per use

A violent roar is released intimidating all who hear it. The more mana used the stronger the roar. '

Walker stepped forward with his other leg and took a deep breath as more guards moved up. "BAAAAHHHHHHHHHRRRRRR" he realeased the built up air consuming two mana. The roar was shocking the moving guards fell to their knees, some of the attendants and nobles followed suit. Others obviously stronger were able to stand some only flinched. The kings and queen didn't even react as it was too small to them.

Walker noticed that his party was not affected at all which he noted as important for later uses.

"Hmm that would be enough Markus you may not like monsters for your own reasons but the little dragon is much more important than you could know." The king's voice was the only sound to break the tension. " that's an interesting skill you have there, I look forward to your explanation since last I knew that was a dragon's roar." All eyes directed at Walker, some glaring, others confused, and even others still in shock.

Walker kneeled and so did his party. He forced the anger from his face knowing he may have overreacted. "Forgive me my king. I see Midnight as part of my family now. We have an equal bond using a blood contract. The thought of harm coming to her caused me to learn another skill."

"Ah so you're a tamer then interesting...wait you just learned that skill now?" The king had never seen someone easily put a skill to practice as fast as Walker had and believed he was being tricked. 𝓫ℯ𝓭𝓃𝓸𝓋ℯ𝓁．𝓬𝓸𝓂

"My king I awakened the jack of all trades system. I am able to learn any skill that's not a mastery skill. Midnight here is a black crystal dragon hatchling we rescued. Gil here is a Ranger, Su is a shield bearer, and Remey is a Brawler. We are humbled to meet you." The queen had made an O with he lips as her jaw dropped surprised at his words.

Her melodic voice rang out "so you're saying you can use skills from many systems...hmmm use another I wish to see." The queen was letting her curiosity guide her but Walker could not say no.

Upon this walker sent his staff back to storage. "That my queen was spatial magic used to store items, even monsters we've hunted. I also learned this from a quest. All around appraisal!" Walker used his appraisal skill on Markus who had just begun recovering.

'Markus Raven

Treasurers system

Level- 63

Weakness- snake type monsters. Fear of snakes has been ingrained within him for his entire life due to watching one bite and kill his younger sister while he was a child.'

"I received this after helping some blacksmiths. I know that Markus Raven has a treasurer system and is level 63 he is also terrified of snakes due to childhood trauma. This skill doesn't tell me everything because I would need a master appraisal skill but it gives me some basics and even some hidden information such as weaknesses." With these words Markus showed rage in his face and stood up quickly but he was unable to make a move.

"Well how interesting, I can tell these skills would not normally be connected. And here I was prepared to reprimand you on your party name of omnipotent but it seems it fits well." The king's words reminded Markus of where he was causing him to put his poker face back on and return to the line of other nobles and attendants. "I assume the guild master has already told you why we wished to meet you, however this is still a surprise to my attendants and nobles here so bear with me as they may react strongly." The king finales smirked showing his excitement " I see four of you with the hero's title but where's the fifth?"

The nobles and attendants' faces dropped. Did he just say title? No this must be one of his jokes.

"Actually my king Midnight is the fifth member of our party and holds the hero title as well. Like I mentioned before we have an equal contract that is why she is family to me." Midnight stood and puffed up her chest at Walker's words the feelings of before wiped away by his praise.

"Impossible! How could a monster have a hero's title! Monsters are evil creatures that kill and kill!" Markus Raven spoke again having gathered his courage.

"Well not only did we set a record for the most titles in any one kingdom but we also destroyed the thought process that all monsters are evil. I quite like this party in August, I would like to see more of them in the future." The queen's words caused even more shock as she had immediately supported them! Was she in on this trick too?

"Hahahaha. Yes I see this is indeed remarkable. The other day I received a quest telling me to bless the five heroes that had been granted such a title in my kingdom as to foster their growth. Now that I see who is before me I am amazed again. Not in My life did I imagine this. I am truly blessed to be the king of this kingdom!" The king's words were absolute, the fact that he had received a quest for such an occasion spoke volumes to how important this title was. Normally the king would only receive quests that revolve around the kingdom's growth. Such as taxes, harvests, ambassadors, and even wars. None of which did not have their great importance to the kingdom as a whole.

The king stood and stepped toward the kneeling party. Ibis and Barry stepped backwards.

"My young heroes. I welcome you and pass to you the king's blessing. I shall award all of you with a medal to allow travel in my name. You shall receive the amethyst mansion which has been abandoned for many years and in need of new owners to bring it back to glory. If you do choose you may enter any academy or school of battle, magic, or otherwise within the kingdom. All who see these young ones here know this! They are protected and fostered by myself as king and the adventures guild. To harm them is to harm me and the kingdom itself. You have been warned!"

The king's words had put the party on its head. Had they really just received a mansion and land!? They could attend any academy? Some academy's were restricted to nobles only. Does this mean we are nobles now too? The king chose to back us! How strong will we get now? What do we do now? How do we tell our families this?

With that the king turned and returned to the throne. "I will give you some time to gather and move your families, I'm sure this is a shock to you. Also I shall send a small group of royal guards to guard the mansion for now until you have settled in. After such I will expect you to return for another audience with me and my attendants. Now we have much to speak about. You may leave for today." The king knew there would be hours of deliberation if not days with his attendants so he sent the party on its way. 𝓫ℯ𝓭𝓃𝓸𝓋ℯ𝓁．𝓬𝓸𝓂

" wait!" The queen ordered, causing them to freeze. " Little midnight come here". Midnight looked to Walker for approval and he gave a nod. Midnight walked over and stood before the queen. The queen reached out a hand and placed it on Midnight's head and brushed down her spine. "So that's what a real dragon feels like, you are indeed adorable little Midnight. You may leave with your family now." She had called midnight over just out of curiosity for what her scales felt like. This queen's curiosity was dangerous.

The king could be seen smirking towards his queen knowing her less serious side was showing. With that the party continued to leave the room Ibis remaining and Barry following.

"That was very interesting, not many people would have the courage to speak out against a noble let along in front of the king. Don't go making too many enemies kid." Barry was reprimanding Walker but the sound of his voice made it seem to be a compliment. "You all will head home to prepare your families to move if they desire if not their safety is not a guarantee. We can't afford to spread guardians everywhere. And by the way Clara is holding the gold from your gathering quest for you, she said she wanted your party to set an account with the grand bank later, do not forget." With that they began the walk back towards the lower tier.

"Oh yea we did get that quest done, how much experience did we get? The title said it would multiply it right?" Remey chimed in voicing what they had all just remembered after Barry's words.

' gathering quest completed.

Rewards:

5G each

10exp each converted to 100exp each due to title multiplier'

"WHAT!" Walker was the first to burst out causing a few disdainful looks from those passing by. "This is insane, how can it multiply it by ten times!?"

Su was walking as if her legs were jello seeing the huge bonus the title gave them. Gil had a goofy smile covering his face and Remey mirrored walkers' surprise.

"Hmmm so that's what the title does. Now, I understand why heroes are revered in history books." Barry had brought them back to the gate to the lower tier and finally chimed in while wearing a pensive look. "Now get moving, I need to get back to the hall. Go by your new homes tomorrow if possible the sooner the better." Turning and giving a small wave he was on his way again.

"So I guess we head home, hey Gil think your parents will be OK moving within the inner walls?" Remey knew she would leave the orphanage eventually and was already emotionally prepared. But she knew Gil's family was used to the open areas.

"Hell yea they will, my dad hates setting traps to keep away the odd monsters or animals that roam the fields and my mother wants nothing more than her own flower garden without worrying for the harvest every year. I'm more worried about Walker's parents leaving the area they have built a place for themselves in the community." Walker was lost in thought and barely heard what Gil had said.

"Well Lisa will be excited and dad would be happy to get some distance from the outer wall, I know the high energy has been wearing away on him these few years. Mom probably won't mind either since adventurers are her main customers so she will just package things and send them to the guild instead of out of the house. Midnight you'll have more room I'm sure and maybe there will be a large fireplace to bask in." Midnight jumped and bounced around showing her excitement at the chance for a warm napping spot.

"Well I as well should have no qualms, I've long outgrown my bedroom in my family's house and would be happy to have more room." Su was nodding her head already planning out how much larger her bed would be.

"Well on that note let's split up, we have some packing to do! Don't forget to rent a carriage to bring everything over in one trip we should have enough after this last job!" Walker yelled as he rushed away with midnight on his heels. The day had ended up pretty amazing and he was excited to reach home and surprise everyone.

The sun had begun to dip down and the shadows lengthened. Walker could swear the was an additional shadow where no person was standing but pushed it from his mind without worry due to his excitement. He reached home faster than usual finding his father already home which was a surprise.

"Walker you're back already huh? Surprise I got sent home early today, not sure why though hahaha." Garret was happy to have an early day even without knowledge why.

"Actually midnight and I might be the reason for that." Garret made a confused face not understanding. "I'll need Lisa and Mom for a big announcement." Walker rushed to the kitchen in pursuit of his mother and sister.

Walker found his mother in the kitchen and told her to meet at the table for a family meeting saying it was important. Next he went looking for Lisa but her room however, was locked.

"I'm busy, don't come in!" She had heard Walker got home and didn't want him coming In. Was she really at that phase and didn't want anyone around? Walker was unsure after the past days of her not wanting people around.

"Family meeting at the table hurry up I won't start until you're there!" Walker yelled his excitement showing in his voice. Walker returned to the table where his mother and father both had worried looks on their faces. Upon sitting down Midnight moved to lay on walkers feet per the usual.

Lisa soon joined them looking a bit run down and tired. Walker could see the circles under her eyes.

"Today after a short quest my party and I went to the inner walls, more specifically we went and met the king within the castle." Hilda seemed to believe him and was frozen staring at him. Garret on the other hand was shaking his head.

"I know you have told better jokes than that before. But the king? It's too unbelievable." Garret was still shaking his head.

"There's actually more...a lot more. The day before my party went to guard the fields from giant locusts. We encountered another party getting swarmed and attacked by a jade locust. We couldn't just run and leave them so we helped. We got beat up a bit so that's why I had come home very late and didn't eat with everyone. We are all fine now, just some scratches because we were healed. But due to our actions we completed a quest more specifically a hidden quest. We all five obtaining a title, the hero title. Even Midnight here has it as well." Walker said the last sentences slower fearing he would give them all heart attacks. Waiting a moment for everyone to catch up he then continued. "And we asked the guild for protection leading us to be brought to meet the king who had received a titled quest to bless us as heroes. He also gave us land more specifically the amethyst mansion within the inner walls so we will be moving. If you don't want to you can stay here but they won't be able to post guards here in case undesirable characters appear..." he then trailed off seeing the shock on their faces reaching yet another level.

For a few minutes no one spoke while absorbing the information but finally was broken by the sound of Lisa moving her chair to get up. She walked up to Walker and firmly punched him in the arm "you could have died! You idiot what would we have done!" After all the things he had just told her she was stuck on the fact he had gotten hurt and been reckless.

" she's exactly right you know, we told you we would be worried about sending you out as an adventurer and here you are telling us you threw yourself in to a near death situation. Honey we may have raised him too leniently". Hilda chimed in as well but she was smiling a bit giving away her true feelings.

" oh i almost forgot I brought these sunflowers back from the quest today! I know you like to add the seeds to your bread!" Walker had been waiting for the right time to present these to Hilda.

" buying your mother's forgiveness will not work. But I can't say going to live the comfy life sounds bad seeing as I wouldn't need to guard the outer wall any longer. I could apply for inner wall patrol." Garret had chimed in after thinking about an easier job and the relaxing days off in comfort.

" so umm if everyone is OK with it we should probably start packing so we can head there in the morning..." Walker again stirred up the room as they did not expect to move suddenly.

The conversation fell in to many questions involving Walker's day. This went on for a good hour until everyone had exhausted their curiosity. Realizing time was of the essence they all went their separate ways to begin packing their belongings. Even midnight ran to help but Walker suspected it was only to eat the things Hilda wouldn't need in the kitchen.

Time went on and through to late in the night everyone toiled away preparing for had insisted she didn't need help packing her room and Walker was left to help with the pots and pans.

Not much sleep was had in the home tonight either due to packing or excitement. But in time the morning did come. Unexpectedly Hilda had made a massive table full of breakfast surprising everyone. "Well we aren't going to move all the food with us, we can buy more for the new kitchen so let's eat and celebrate!"

They all dug in to the meal, Midnight soon found a profound love of bacon causing her to try and steal it from Walker who was fast enough to protect it and eat it quick. Lisa however had given in and shared hers with midnight.

Walker was the first to finish eating. "I'm going to run out to the stables and rent a carriage to help us move everything in one go. I'll be back soon!" With that he dashed out the door.

The energy he had was propelling him forward faster and fast. As he approached some large stables he knew were full of horses and a few other animals he noticed a man repairing a carriage which had lost a wheel.

'Emergency quest:

A man is in danger of death. Repairing a carriage is dangerous work , pull the man from underneath before the carriage tips and falls upon him. Speed is of the essence.

Rewards:

5exp'

Walker saw this and glanced at the man underneath the carriage. As he worked, Walker noticed the carriage begin to sway slightly. Walker's heart jumped in his chest and he used all this strength to sprint to the man. Jumping and latching on to the man's leg Walker powerfully dragged the man to the side. Seconds later the carriage began to fall crashing on to its side.

The man Walker had just pulled from there stared in shock. He had just been under there a second ago...he had almost died! This man was late in age but still young enough to work. His black hair speckled with grey and a modest built body from years of repairing his own carriage.

He immediately grabbed and shook walkers hands "thank you thank you thank you. I didn't even notice it wasn't safe if not for you I would have been crushed just now! Thank you." The man had fallen in to too many thank yous due to his adrenaline rush.

"My name is Igor and if there's anything I can do to repay you just say the word now!" Sincerity twinkled in his eyes.

"No need to thank me it was an emergency quest not to mention I wouldn't want to see anyone hurt. But there is something I can ask you for, can you introduce me to a carriage driver to help my family move?" Walker didn't need much but figured to ask an inside man for help to move along faster.

"Yes! That's an easy one if you're looking at a carriage driver! I own three along with six horses in these very stables. I have a carriage driver system after all so it's part of who I am." Igor was proud to boast his achievments even though he had almost been crushed a moment ago. "Just tell me where to go and I'll meet you there. I'll get a carriage ready immediatly!" Due to Igor's willingness and forward energy walker gave him the details and turned to walk home. As he walked he checked the quest he had received wondering if being a hero had anything to do with this sudden emergency quest.

'Emergency quest has been completed by saving Igor.

Rewards:

5exp multiplied by title to 50exp'

Walker smiled an extra pep in his step as he returned home.

Walker returned home smiling since with that last quest he had hit level five. He had been musing what to do with his next five stat points and distributed them to defense, magic attack, one one point to agility. Taking that hit against the jade locust made him worry he would not be able to defend in the future. However as he began to think of why to do his next level up Garret opened the door and started bringing out crates and boxes. There weren't many due to his families smaller residence and collection of items but it was enough to cause Walker to jump in and help.

Not a few moments later did the sound of a carriage and horses come to their ears. Igor was heading to them with a smile in his nicest garb knowing he would head to the inner walls. Stopping in front of the pile of crates and boxes he spared no time to rest and immediately began loading the carriage. Garret was impressed that Walker had been so fast to find a nice carriage along with a driver who was so astute to help them lay their belongings.

With just about everything loaded after an hour of work Hilda had come out and hopped in with Garret. Lisa and midnight were the last two. Walker went looking for them to tell them they were leaving. The home seemed empty bringing a bit of sadness to Walker but it became overshadowed by new opportunities. He reached Lisa's room and could hear her talking to midnight in a hushed whisper "do you think he'll like it? It took days but it's perfect." This made Walker curious so he almost just opened the door but decided it's safer to knock.

"Hey it's time to go we need to get on the carriage!" His voice caused a scramble in the room for a moment.

"Come in!" Lisa's voice called out so Walker opened the door slowly. Standing there with her arms out holding a black cloak that seemed to shine ever so slightly. "I made this for you with the needles you gave me! It should fit exactly. It's a thank you for your gift." Lisa's huge smile was contagious and Walker couldn't help but smile as well. Even midnight seemed to have an air of happiness about her.

Using his all around appraisal skill walker checked it out

' elemental cloak- high class item

+5 mana

Channels elements to refresh 2 mana every five minutes. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Created out of familial love and determination.'

"This..this is amazing! You made a high class item do you know what this can do? It can regenerate mana! Lisa this is incredible!" Walker was ecstatic this single cloak had not only increased his mana but also refreshed it. This would hugely reduce his worry if exhausting his mana while out fighting.

"I wanted you to be safer so I used all my mana every day sewing with the needles you gave me. I even got a titled quest that rewarded me for giving you a gift in return." Her smug smile and voice was showing how proud she was of being praised by her older brother.

Walker put the cloak on and felt the refreshing feeling of mana flowing around him. This was definitely something he couldn't imagine happening. He smiled at Lisa "how do I look? Do I look like I can cast any spell?" She smiled and nodded her head quickly hugging Walker happy to see he liked her gift so much so to put it on immediately.

'The passive skill elemental affinity has been taken from the Elemental mage class due to the user experiencing mana influx from the existing elements.

Elemental affinity- passive skill

Allows the user to more easily use magic based on the elements. '

Walker glanced at the skill curious what more easily meant and made a mental note to practice some spells when he has the chance. If this means he could use all the elements he could choose the best for each situation and counter many element based monsters. Smiling he said "let's go show this off and you can tell mother and father about your high class creation. You know people would pay a lot for something like this, you just may be able to take your own orders like mother does." Walker knew this would excite Lisa since she was always amazed by the adventurers that placed orders for bread and such with their mother.

Exiting the home they jumped in the carriage along with midnight and began the ride to their new home. Lisa and Walker explained the cloak on their ride. Hilda and Garret were extremely surprised. They knew Lisa was working on a gift for Walker but not that it was to such an amazing degree. They truly had two children with bright futures.

Soon they came to a stop so Walker jumped out and saw the sight before him. Ten guards were stationed at a rusting gate. The was a strong but slightly old looking stone wall surrounding a large property. Behind the walls was an overgrown garden in desperate need of some love. The mansion itself had a few broken shutters and needed a good scrubbing on the putter bricks. Some shingles were missing from the roof. All in all it was a bit old looking but the two floor building was definitely large enough to house all of them and even 30 of 40 guests if ever need be. Walker could see on one side was what appeared to be a small outdoor forge and on the other side of the mansion a small outdoor workshop which appears to be equipped with alchemy tools.

Before he could start thinking a guard approached "hello sir hero we are the royal guards sent by his majesty. We will start a patrol with your permission. Five of us shall be patrolling at once on shifts. His majesty also sent this gift here. Once you accept it we shall begin." The guard held out a box with a small note attached.

"Thank you, please guard myself and my parties families safety." Nodding the guards headed to start their patrol. As they started to walk away the sound of another two carriages approaching drew his attention. Gil and Remey were in one and Su was on the other. It looked like Remey had partnered up with Gil since he passed the orphanage in his way from the fields. Walker couldn't wait to hear what they thought.

Once they had stopped Remey was the first to the gate "it's huuuggee" she was in awe compared to her shared room in the orphanage this would be a major change.

Before Gil could get to them, a plump woman wearing overalls with tied up blond hair hopped from the carriage brandishing a shovel and hoe. "I'll be tending to this beast of a garden, honey you go find a room for us." She proceeded through the gates with a smile looking to be on a mission.

"And that's my mom" Gil was a bit embarrassed but he did mention she would like to have her own garden. A skinnier man with brown hair came out next wearing a green and brown cloak perfect for blending in to the forest. He was fairly tall and had eyes like a hawk. His feet didn't make a single sound wherever he stepped. His movements were very precise. "Yes dear, I'll kick this little hero in the butt to start some strength training!" He laughed to himself at his joke while Gil looked even more red faced.

Su had also exited her carriage and come up to walker. "Hello, leader it's a nice morning. My mother is a bit weak today so my father and I will walk her inside. I promise to introduce everyone at dinner." Su seemed a bit sad but the glint of excitement In her eyes showed how she wanted to explore the mansion.

"Sounds good. I'll be taking a walk around. I'm curious what kind of spaces we have." Walker was enticed by the forge and workshop and could glimpse the edges of a training area behind the mansion. " hey everyone by the way before you all rush away we have a gift from the king!" Walker drew Gil and Remey to where he and Su stood.

Lifting the box he opened the lid to reveal gold, and five crystal medals inscribed with their names. There was a slight flicker of magic in them, most likely to show that it was genuine to their kingdom. "The letter says, I hope you find your new homes well. I placed the travel medals within this box along with some funds I've heard young adventurers are always in need of it may be only be 500G but it should be enough to start some home repairs and replace the shield I heard young Walker lost. I hope to hold an audience with all of you again in the coming weeks. The queen is very interested in any new tricks you all have to show us." The letter was short and sweet but also expressed that piercing curiosity of the queen. Walker made sure to remember some safe skills to demonstrate to them upon their calling.

"Holy lord that's 500G I've never seen that much." Remey dug her hands in to the box letting the gold fall through her fingers

"Haha imagine Walker picking that up if the gold wasn't blessed with a magic seal to make it weightless." Gill was almost giggling at the thought it seems this amount of gold threw his mind for a loop.

"This should be good to replace those shingles and start the damaged shutters along with upkeep the walls and maybe a new gate." Su had begun to note the things they needed.

"Alright so as everyone moves in let's all take note of what we need and what may warrant repairs. Later at dinner we will make a list and call for the proper craftsmen." Walker thought of dividing and conquering to be the best way to cover this large property. With that, they went their separate ways Walker storing the gold until later while everyone wore their medal. Midnight's medal attached right to her adventurer plaque making it a perfect fit.

Walker and midnight began walking through the overgrown garden towards the forge. There were many rusty tools that had been left unused for too long. Storing them away Walker knew he could have them brought back to life at the forge building in the lower tier. The anvil and the forge oven itself looked in perfect condition awaiting use.

Moving past this he came around the mansion seeing the large training ground in back. A small archery range with rotted straw and wood dummies, a sparring ground, some rotted dummies that appeared to be for melee combat, there was even a small pond for what seemed to be for training the water elemental magic. Walker though this must mean someone had water magic when they lived here. Walking through the back he found an out door patio with a beautiful stone table. This will be perfect for dining outside in the warmer seasons not to mention events!

Making his way forward again to the workshop he had seen was in an equal state as the forge. Rusted tools but to his surprise multiple sized cauldrons that could be used to make many potions at the same time. The person who built it had thought it out very well so that all the fires would heat in unison multiple pots, allowing for multiple batches to easily be adjusted. Opening a small cabinet walker found a slew of vials waiting to be discovered. This was one thing they would not need to buy in the future.

Leaving the workshop he again came to the front of the house noticing an ornate door knocker carved from a black stone. It seemed to be a snake biting its own tail. His hand reached out to touch it causing a slight shock. "What the holy lord was that!" Walker was surprised and cautiously touched the knocker again only for nothing to happen. Maybe I'm over excited, he thought maybe he had exaggerated it since the metal was cold.

Pushing the doors open walker got a full view of the grand opening. A large stair case lead upwards to the second floor. Two hallways lead to either side of the building. There were spots on the walls that appeared to once upon a time held portraits. Luckily there were some decorative tables and vases left behind which would greatly help the furnishing process. However, Walker wasn't thinking of this instead he was stuck on one thing, "it's all covered in a layer of dust!" Walker knew the cleaning would take all day.

' titled quest: a home fit for a hero.

Requirements:

Repair the leaking roof

Tame the garden

Return the forge to use

Return the alchemy workshop to use

Gain new training dummies for the training ground

Remove harmful dust

Repair the walls

Replace the front gate

Organize the library

Discover the past of the amethyst mansion

Rewards:

50exp, access to the study.'

"Well, I guess that's settled" walker rolled up his sleeves and used the party chat to let everyone know to check their quests while he called Clara for some assistance in hiring a craftsman to fix the outside.

The conversation with Clara was quick she noted that three carpenters could easily fix the shutters and roof for 75G, the forge could fix and repair the gate and walls along with the tools for 115G, and hiring temporary cleaning services from the adventurers guild for 40G. The other matters would be in their hands. Walker also invited Clara to dinner to celebrate with them as she was their party manager and would be very involved in their future affairs.

Walker knew that Gil's mother was already hard at work in the garden for he could hear her singing as she worked. He really wanted to focus on the alchemy workshop but the libraries temptation was much stronger. He told himself he would worry about the alchemy equipment tomorrow and take a visit to the forge to submit payment. Since the alchemy building was next door to the forge it would be killing two birds with one stone.

Walker came down the right side hallway noticing small patches of wallpaper that had peeled making a mental note to repair them. He soon come to a large oak door. The inscription "knowledge is a gift to those who wish to learn" was inscribed upon it. Walker felt this was a fitting motto for a library and pushed the heavy door open. This library was much larger than he expected. There were walls of books, a fireplace awaiting new logs to burn, and a few ladders as well as spiraling stairs to a second floor balcony for the next set of shelves. The furnishings were nearly perfect but for the dust and cobwebs. However upon inspection he found the books to be in great condition. Curious he studied the shelves finding someone had carved magical runes in the wood which must have protected the books. Someone truly cared for these books so much so to spend hours keeping them safe.

Soon walker found a few piles of books next to a chair along with the odd one or two set upon a table or steps of the stairs. He could see that the books were organized by category by reading the spines. Following suit he walked around the library placing books on forging, alchemical ingredients, monster species, magical training techniques, even a few cookbooks that he was sure to show his mother later. This library was very diverse and was going to help everyone grow in their own Avenue.

After spending a decent amount of time placing the books away walker hunted around finding some cloths to wipe away dust and cobwebs. He started at the door and worked his way up the spiral staircase. The balcony on the second story shelves was a smaller space and easier to clean so it only took him an hour to get through. However as he was about to turn and descend the stars a black book with a serpent biting its tail caught his eye. Walker reached out a hand and pulled it from the shelf.

::: day 1

Today we received the news that father was lost to the demons in the war. Mothers illness took a turn after she was notified making me the one in charge of the house. To keep my sanity I began writing this journal, it feels right to organize my thoughts in writing.

Day2

Mother has fallen in to a slumber, I must find a way to heal her illness but I fear it may also be one of the heart without father here. My water magic works well with alchemy so I've built a workshop to experiment. The forge father built will be perfect to craft the small tools I need in the future.

...

Day 15

Mothers breath has been erratic lately. I've exhausted most of our funds on rare herbs from far away. Hopefully I can have a breakthrough. I was able to create a small pond in the back yard which has helped me train my water control significantly. I can now remove most impurities from the herbs than before.

...

Day17

In need of money I reached out to a small group who wished to use my families research. Since my great grandfather believed in the immortal serpent reflected in our crest, they readily assisted me. They paid me greatly for my health potions which were more effective than most others of the same grade. They tried to ask me to work using monster parts but they were too volatile for my work.

...

Day 23

I've discovered that my great grandfather had hidden much of his research from the family and I was lucky to discover it while looking through the books for inspiration. There's theory of a potion that could make one immortal but the ingredients couldn't possibly exist. Let along how could someone defeat a monster as such?

...

Day25

I've exhausted all the combinations of herbs I need to start experimenting with more. I have asked for those monster materials but I don't expect much. But what if? Mother seems more pale than the other day I've called for a doctor and healer again. I can not stop my research! This might save her life!

...

Day 34

I've received many different monster materials and none show any promise. Every potion even the ones that should heal or increase lifespan seem to cause instant death or shortened lifespan. What am I doing wrong! I've given everything to them and they still haven't found the right materials.

...

Day 36

My mana is running dry faster and faster if I must burn my life essence than I shall, I refuse to lose my last family. Today my investors found a black snake seemingly similar to the one my great grandfather modeled our crest after. The skin seems to peel off layer to layer as if it goes through rebirth. Cutting to its organs I found a black egg. I can't cut its shell and it shows no sign of life so I've stored it away in great grandfathers hiding spot as a memento.

Day 37

I had a breakthrough this snakes flesh can stabilize the potion but it degrades too fast it only lasts a second! What am I missing! I need more but they are threatening to give up on my since I haven't produced anything new these few days. 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶

...

Day 46

I've been abandoned, no one answers my call any longer. No servants, no funds come in, and even the doctors. They say my mother is not of this world any longer but I know they are wrong with this immortality potion she will return younger and brighter than ever. I only need more time.

...

Day 62

It's going to work today the flesh is almost gone I've used the last of my herbs and even burned my soul to stabilize it. My last moments I'll feed it to mother and see her life return after I shall take some myself and we will live forever!

:::

Walker was not fully sure what he had found he skipped through pages disgusted and afraid of this persons descent in to madness. How much experimentation did she do? Did she use these potions on living people to find it would kill them instead of ever lasting life? She even burned her very soul making this convoluted potion. Many more questions continued to rush to his mind.

Walker was about to read the journal again to glean more information from it when her heard gils voice yelling for him from outside.

"Walker! Come over here!" Gil sounds like he'd found something. Walker quickly headed towards the garden area to see Gil and his mother by the wall staring at a thorn bush.

"Mom found these while she was trimming back these red thorns. She says the thorns are used for some medicinal purposes as an antiseptic but that's not what's important. That's are headstones there's three." Gil pointed at some small rectangular stones that read,

"Marian ouroboros

Loving mother taken too soon

Avis Ouroboros

Great slayer of demons

Allison ouroboros

Unyielding in pursuit of family"

This must be the family that lived here prior. Now walker had names to place to the journal. The daughter must have passed away after burning her soul. This was a saddening story, "I've learned a bit from some journals in the library about the family. I think we should clean these up and respect them. Their daughter tried very hard in the face of terrible events." Walker then bowed slightly offering a prayer to the souls in hopes it would help them rest more peacefully.

" aye I'll be sure to make this area nice and flowery in the warmer months, I'm sure any spirit would appreciate the view" Gil's mother was looking down with a pensive look. Through many years of working in the fields she accepted the cycle of nature knowing that where something would die another thing would soon grow. But that didn't make it any easier on those left living.

Walker decided not to share the past with his party unless it was necessary, he had already completed the subject of discovering the past of amethyst mansion and didn't want to cause anyone else sadness on a happy day. He was about to turn to walk back inside when he noticed a familiar face measuring the front gate and scribbling down note.

"Rodney?! So the forge sent you to do the gate huh?" Walker approached happy to see a familiar face after the discovery of something unsettling.

"Yup now that I can craft properly I've been running around everywhere! I'll measure this look at the walls then head back. We'll make it today and finish it all tomorrow so you just need to submit payment!" Rodney's works were bursting with energy and fire as usual.

"Well I won't get in your way then, but hopefully the walls are easier than they look." Walker was a bit worried the age of the walls would present an expensive challenge.

"Well the gates are easy we just use an existing mold. The walls will take us all day tomorrow depending on test of time. But so far it just looks to be patching jobs which is very easy and will most likely finish earlier than expected." Rodney was showing off. Walker nodded and decided to return inside to finish dusting the library. Saying his goodbyes.

Once he was back in the library he picked up where he left off and cleaned the dust and cobwebs. Every once in a while he'd find a quill, or the odd coin around. He noticed a loose leg on a chair but was easily able to tighten the screw on it without worry. All in all after two more hours it was in pristine condition.

Noticing the time he went to meet his mother to tell her they could eat outside on the patio. He also made note to grab some chairs for everyone. Setting up and stopping to tell her passed some time and before he knew it everyone was making their way to the table.

Su entered the room helping a skinny and frail looking women with white hair and warm features to sit down. "This is my mother Helena I apologize for the late introduction but she is often ill so we take priority over resting. Behind me is my father Frederick" as a man with grey and brown peppered hair came behind Su he was tall and tired looking. One could tell from the etched lines on his face he spends too much time in worry.

"Nice to meet you." The two unintentionally said in unison causing laughs to resound.

"We look forward to a bright future, especially if I can sit in the garden when it's finished." Su's mother smiled and the world seemed a bit brighter.

"Well of course as long as you don't hurt the plants I'll even build you your own little reading nook!" Gil's mother was happy to see someone else showing enthusiasm for the garden.

Walker was happy everyone was chatting and getting to know each other and as they all finished their food he found a nice time to talk about the quest. "So I've finished the library, and read a journal about the previous owners to discover the past. I saw Rodney at the gate he said as long as I submit payment tomorrow the gate will be delivered and the wall finished so expect noise in the early hours. Clara got in contact with three carpenters for the shutters and roof so we are covered on that as well. Also four adventurers will be visiting to assist in cleaning since I posted a quest. So that being said does anyone want to come to the forge and alchemist buildings with me tomorrow to get the remaining tools?" Walker was thankful he could see the progress of the quest through his system it's was an immense help.

"Actually I would like to come, I want to stop by the orphanage since it will be the first morning without me. Also growing up I learned a few tricks for fevers in the orphanage so I might be able to help pick out some starting herbs." This surprise from Remey was unusual, none of them had expected the hot tempered brawler to also know some alchemy. "What? It's not weird. Did none of you take medicine when you were sick? Just magically got better huh?" Her face had flushed red as she realized she'd shown her caring side to everyone, even some newer people.

They all laughed and began talking and teasing once more after that. Staying up later than usual walkers mother even brought out some apple turnovers as dessert to celebrate. But they would be waking up early so sleep came eventually.

Walker had chosen a bedroom close to the stairs so he could get up and move more easily without waking others. The room was not furnished and only had a bed as of now but, walker knew he could fill it over time.

Leaving his room just as the sun rose he found Remey already waiting for him. "Well didn't you sleep long pfft" he knew she was just teasing him but was curious how early she had awoke. He was sure that being the big sister of the orphanage gave her plenty to do earlier in the morning.

They walked down the stairs and grabbed some bread to eat on the way to the forge. Walker's mother had already been up as usual baking so he didn't disturb her. He was thankful that with her system she could place orders for food from home and have them delivered. It definitely took the hasstle out of shopping for ingredients. 𝑏𝘦𝑑𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Exiting the mansion, Walker said a quick good morning to the guards and proceeded on their way. The nice part of being out early was that they didn't get any looks from wandering nobles as they weren't out yet. Only craftsman and carriage drivers seemed to be out to do deliveries. Many delivering high class ingredients or the unusual parcels to large mansions or high end shops. Even the horses pulling these carts were high end.

With no problems at all the pair made it to the lower tier and headed towards the orphanage first, mostly because walker could see a bit of stress in Remeys eyes. The orphanage was a slightly run down building near the church. It's walls used to be white but had faded to grey. A small garden made up the yard to help with food. They'd built a small pen for a cow to provide milk. This was due to the nuns being required to assist in the growth of orphans as part of their training. However the funds for the orphanage came from the castle not religion.

It wasn't so much that they hurt for funding; it was more that people chose not to recognize that some children had no homes or family. It would be interesting to see what Remey could do with her title of hero to affect the orphanage.

Before the two even made it to the door, a group of kids burst out tackling Remey to the ground.

"Get her!"

"Surprise attack tackle!"

"This time we'll win!"

These phrases of battle continued as Remey began rising up and throwing kids off her arms and legs. It was an endless battle, making walker realize how she had easily unlocked her system. While Remey said hello in this manner walker noticed an older woman watching with a slight smile.

"Hello, my name's Walker I'm a member of Remeys party, we were in the area so we decided to stop by for a bit before we headed to the forge and alchemist building." Walker was polite as ever.

"How nice, tell your parents they did well raising you. Hahaha, my names Lin I'm in charge of the little monsters over there. I hope you're all treating Remey well, she's always acting hot tempered but she's more doting than anyone else here. Although her sense of timing could use work, we were just about to start lessons for the day now I'll have to calm them down." Even with those last words the smile grew on Lin's face. She was fairly happy that the first of Remeys party she'd brought home was a boy and decided she might just tease Remey a bit later.

"Hey get your butts inside before I drag you in! You aren't escaping math lessons today!" Surprising Walker Lin let out a loud yell causing every child to snap to attention and rush glanced at walker in curiosity but didn't dare disobey Lin.

"We'll get you next time!" One boy yelled as he slammed the door closed so Remey couldn't pursue him.

"They'll never beat me, I'm just too strong" Remey was all too happy at another victory over her siblings.

"Ohhh yes another win for Remey I guess being the only one to bring a boy home does make you a winner." Lin's statement caused Remey to stutter and flush red. Walker however was unfazed catching on to Lin's mischief.

"I know you worry about those gremlins in there but you haven't even been gone a day! Take this polite young man and get a move on! Here I thought you were growing up. Hahaha" Lin chuckled as she said this causing Remey to turn and move on her way at a fast pace.

"Fine I won't visit ever!" Remey was embarrassed and said she wouldn't return but both Lin and walker knew they were false words.

Fearing Remey would get too far away walker quickly followed "it was nice to meet you! I'll have my mother send some bread for you all!" Walker hurriedly caught up to Remey. It was time to pay the forge and visit the alchemy building.

The walk was short and Walker was able to pay at the counter of the forge very easily, being told that the gate would be placed in a few hours and people had already been sent to repair and clean up the wall.

This left the alchemy building. The building was similar in size to the forge since they required heat to cook many things. The first floor was a large shop selling potions, herbs, and some monster parts. There was also an assortment of tools one may need. The second floor housed many rooms for producing potions and processing herbs. Their third floor was the same as the forge; housing the offices of the alchemist building. As the pair approached the entrance walker noticed many colored smokes coming from the different stacks. He had always wondered what herbs and potions created these different colors. Pushing the theory from his mind, he opened the front door.

Ding ding

The two were immediately hit with the scent of green forests. The feeling of being in the woods was aided by the bountiful amounts of green herbs lining shelves along the walls. Each were labeled and even listed basic properties. Looking towards the counter they could see many tools of various sizes and shapes along with all-ready made potions, organized by tiers. Surprisingly, there was an empty shelf where high potions would be. Walker wondered if this was because someone had purchased them all prior.

"Welcome to the alchemist shop!" An older looking man wearing green robes said with open hands from behind a counter. He had nearly blended in with the herbs behind him.

Approaching the counter walker began pulling rusted tools from his inventory. "Hello, I'm looking to replace these tools and also request some beginner herbs for creating health and mana potions please." Walker knew exactly what he wanted. He also wanted to prioritize the tools so that he could get the quest done sooner.

"Also throw in some buck weed, snow sprout, and some of that red hue clover. We'll need it to make some nourishing tea to prevent illness." Walker was extremely surprised that Remey had known the ingredients right away and also what to use them for.

"Ah back again little Remey, is one of your siblings feeling unwell?" This man recognized Remey as well? Walker was again stunned. He didn't know Remey at all!

"Not this time, my party and I just moved In to that run down place in the upper tier amethyst ashiest eehh whatever mansion. We're cleaning it up and I know if your body is weak the dust and dirt can make ya sick." Remey talked casually with this man even explaining easily why she needed the ingredients. Wait, this was good for someone with a weak body? Was she thinking of Su's mother? Remey definitely held more depth than Walker knew.

"Sure, sure, I'll put it all together don't worry, and you, young man, must be part of her party. Hmmm.. you should learn well from little Remey here; she knows good household medicine. She could probably make a potion faster than you, ha!" Letting out a quick laugh he turned and began grabbing things in to a crate.

Remey had become slightly red but was standing firm watching the old man work taking note of what he grabbed. While she watched walker decided to let his eyes wander soon falling on a shelf behind the counter holding stranger herbs than he'd every seen. Using all around appraisal he studied them.

'Ice lotus- toxic herb

Can be used to purify deadly frostbite however if ingested will kill by freezing internal organs.'

Wow, so there's a difference between how it's used. this thought was the first think in his head. Walker was glad he could learn simple things such as this. It could really help in a pinch. He continued using his skill, wanting to learn as much as possible to store away in his mental archive.

' orange flame grass- non toxic

Calms and purifies impurities when used in high heat brewing.

Purple spotted mushroom- partially toxic 𝑏𝘦𝑑𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝘰𝘮

When ingested causes severe hallucination, however when ground in to a fine paste can be used to purify weak poisons.

Green footed toad eggs- inedible

Used to absorb poisonous fat based impurities over long periods of time.

Green grass- non toxic/ edible

Plain old grass

Weeping orchid- spiritual

Can not be eaten or brewed unless using spiritual based skills. The effects strengthen brews that heal injuries to the mind.'

Walker was lost in a daze so much so that he didn't even notice Remey staring at him. She didn't know why he was spacing out with his jaw dropped slowly turning inch by inch. Walker soon got caught on one thing though,

'Dragon fruit- species specific/ class specialized

Can only be used in potions for a specific class or consumed by those with dragon blood. If consumed in a potion or raw, the one consuming may find latent potential unlocked.'

Walker immediately saw promise in this item,

"Excuse me can I ask how much for that fruit there." Walker has pointed to the spiky red fruit on a middle shelf.

"Ahh that fruit? It's supposed to be special for specific classes but it's been sitting here for a week and no interest. The going rate is 90G but since we want to get rid of it for the shelf space, I can sell it for 80G." The price seemed steep but if the benefits were as good as walker hoped Midnight may claim some of her natural dragon skills early.

"Ha! old man you know you can sell it for 60G." Remey jumped in haggling for a lower price causing the man to scrunch his face.

"I should have known you'd try to challenge me, 75G"

"50g or no deal"

Remey had just dropped it another ten gold walker didn't understand.

"You little...65G take it or leave it!" Remey nodded confirming she would take it for that "hmpf that right then, boy! You'll be paying correct? This crate has replacement tools and a beginners herb kit. Since you brought Remey with you I threw in a few extra herbs good for soothing cuts and scrapes she'll show you how to blend em. With the fruit and the tea ingredients I'll charge you 115G."

Walker pulled the gold from his inventory placing it on the counter. The man took it and sat back down. "Now scoot, little Remey; I can't have you trying to talk down all the prices for every customer." He made a shooing motion to the pait as Walker stored the crate in his inventory.

"We'll come to annoy you again another day old man!" Remey turned with a smile, she was definitely in a better mood after coming here. Giving a wave of his own and a smile Walker tired to follower her out the door. Walker had learned a lot just by using his all around appraisal skill on the herbs. Now while he was out on quests he was sure he could identify useful herbs.

"Hey Remey, the old man in the shop said you could show me some things, like household alchemy right? Did you learn it yourself or did someone teach you?" Walker was curious if Remey would tell him while in her good mood.

"Oh it's not much; I just snuck in there when I was little so I could learn how to make medicine we couldn't afford. I got caught by that old guy there but instead of kicking me on the street like he should have, he let me stay." Walker could definitely imagine Remey not giving up if she couldn't get something but the words sneak and Remey didn't quit fit well together in his mind.

"So Remey the alchemist brawler, I wonder what Su and Gil will think about your new job class." Walker bumped her slightly on the shoulder.

"Oh if you tell they I'm some medicine maker I'll punch ya until you forget today!" Remeys threat wasn't light but she sounded too playful for it to be serious. The rest of their walk back they chatted about various herbs and some household herbs. Some that help stay away, others that can get rid of headaches, Remey even knew one that helped with muscle soreness.

The pair had only been gone a few hours but they could see the shutters had already been made and repaired, three workers were on the roof placing new shingles. There was about five people using earth skills on the walls and fixing them. Walker even noticed someone washing windows, that must have been an adventurer sent by the guild.

"Let's go put these in the workshop!" Walkers excitement grew as he realized they would complete another task.

Reaching the Side with the alchemy workshop the two quick began pulling old rotted crates and scooping out ashes. Walker opened the chimney up causing a pleasant flow of clean air. Now that they could let the dust fly their speed would soar. It took only two hours of their time to get the shop clean enough to where walker felt comfortable storing herbs and placing new tools.

"Put the snow sprout near the ground; it like the colder earth than the warmer are up top." Remey gave Walker a glance, as she worked explaining how to store the herb. Walker who had become a believer in Remeys hidden talent, followed her words and had a feeling that the herb just looked greener on the bottom shelf. Almost more alive.

The process was simple since they didn't have too many herbs but the knowledge that walker could easily fill the shelves with many more let him smile. Soon Remey began roughly chopping the three herbs she had asked for and tossing them in to a small pot. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝑡

Filling it with water and moving it to one of the hearths she tossed some small sticks underneath to start a fire. Walker was watching intently to see how long and how much she would heat it to make the tea. Once she had gotten it started she left the room and soon returned with a handful of sugar. She dropped it in "that's the basics of the tea it's nothing tough but instead of sugar, honey is better but it's not the right season. Also do not bring it to a boil just until it's steaming then strain it in to cups. After that the tea is drinkable. The honey and sugar is to sweeten it so it's easier to drink but does not effect the quality in any way." Walker hadn't even asked a question and Remey already knew what to say.

"Maybe I'll leave this workshop to you Remey, I think you can make better use of it than I." Walker was worried he would step on Remeys toes if he was in here experimenting for new skills.

"I can only do the basics, some things you need skills for so when I need those I'll drag your butt in here then" she had accepted his offer but in the condition of him being at her call for more challenging things.

Soon the herb tea began to steam causing a fresh earthy aroma to penetrate their nostrils. Remey pulled the pot and grabbed one of the new tools from a shelf. Inside the room was a strainer and she slowly poured the liquid through it in to some stone cups. There were enough for everyone. She even grabbed a small bowl for Midnight which Walker smiled at.

"Let's go visit everyone and see how we're all doing" Remey was in full mom mode, which opened Walker's eyes to how great his party was becoming.

As they walked the mansion finding someone here and there to hand a cup to, walker concluded that the roof was nearly finished, the walls were done completely and the gate being hung, the dust and dirt had left the building along with shiny windows, the craftsmen had brought training dummies for the grounds, and the difference in the garden was astonishing.

"The garden looks amazing it's been trimmed and cleared! It's totally ready for when spring comes!" Walker was very happy to be able to envision the wondrous place it would be come spring.

"Well of course I used to deal with fields much bigger than this. I just used a bit of muscle to take those thorns over there and the rest fell in to place." Gil's mother was nodding her head in approval. "I'll plant some fruit trees along the wall, we'll have some vegetables here and there, I saw you two in that workshop and now that I see this tea I'll make a place for herbs. I may not have many skills for growing rare ones but the basic ones I can grow if you pick up seeds. If there's anything else you want just let me know."

"Hmm I may ask you to grow something a bit challenging, I just need to see if I can get seeds from the fruit later." Walker was wondering if growing more dragon fruits would be helpful to midnight and decided that going back to the library to read up on monsters may be wise. There was plenty of knowledge he had not pursued yet.

"Aye just let me know when, I do like a challenge every once in a while." With that Gils mother gave the empty cup she had drank from picked up a rake and moved towards another part of t front garden.

"I think I'm going to head for the library now, tonight we can all check the quest rewards together!" Walker was stuck on studying the books to find more information on dragons. If He had neglected to learn he could accidentally harm midnight. He was now on a mission!

Walker made his way to the library quickly finding the section for monster anatomy and history. There were a total of around 150 books which was fairly significant. However thinking of it reminded walker of why the previous owner may have accrued these books. Pushing the thought from his mind he chose to think of the help it would bring now.

Banshee, history of skeletons, poison eyed moths, the near extinction of shadow cats, ancient reptiles... these were some of the titles walker read as he went down the first row. His curiosity was peaked but he couldn't get distracted if he wanted to share the fruit with midnight. Walker was curious what midnight had been doing in the mansion all day but figured she was either trying to get food or napping by the fire.

Dragon eggs and beyond. "Ah this looks like what I'm after." The book he found looked fairly unread making it easier to see letters as they weren't aged or worn. Flipping though the pages walker skipped most of the first half of the book as they were about how a mother would hatch or lay the egg.

The chapter titled hatchling to young adult was the one that caught Walker's eye. There were diagrams of different species of dragons , all of which showed no wings on any. Yet the comparing diagrams showed the bones developing under the top layer of scales. The books stated that the wings would be able to extend from the body after the hatchling shed its baby scales which were weaker but this would only happen after the adult scales had begun to grow in. Walker could only imagine Midnight flying around the kitchen trying to steal food from everyone.

If anyone saw him giggling while reading they would label him a fool. Continuing on he noticed sections about dragons not always manifesting the same skills as their parents. For dragons their bloodline was important so if two different species had an egg the hatchling may gain some skills of both but if there was stronger blood from one than the other parent the hatchling would most likely lean towards the one. This caused Walker to wonder what species Midnight's father is. Based off the scales in the cave they found Midnight, Walker knew the mother was black crystal flame dragon but figuring out what skills went with what species might require a more specific book.

The next paragraph mentioned catalysts that dragons would consume to aid their growth. Walker knew he had found what he was looking for, the mention of crystals was something he had already more or less understood. The books said that the dragons would want to consume crystals of elements they had affinity with because they would strengthen their bones and scales. The next section mentioned that the stronger the monsters they consumed the stronger they could grow their muscles and all their organs. Finally there was a section on herbs that dragons were often attracted to, they would eat or roll in them. These acts would help their internal and magical growth strengthening their minds. After long term consumption a dragon could even grow to speak other languages or develop advanced skills. These traits were often found in ancient dragons.

Pondering this information walker decided the fruit would be classified as an herb since it came from plants. He wondered if he managed to grow them he could feed more to midnight and it would help her learn human language. This possibility made him much more excited because others would be able to converse with her in a more fluid manner. Now that he knew the fruit could actually be beneficial to midnight walker breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to keep reading but decided against it since a special specific book would be much more helpful.

Noticing the time had flown by as he ready walker put some pep in to his step and went to the outdoor dining table where he realized he was the last making it there for dinner.

"And here we were betting you would sleep in the library!" Lisa was the first to notice and wanted to get back at her brother for hiding away all day.

"I was actually reading about some interesting things but I guess I won't be sharing any of it... too bad I'm sure you'd want to hear about dragons." Walker said this while sitting down and pretending to only have eyes for food. This made Lisa let out a hmpf and turn away but the others at the table had their Interest piqued.

"Leader I'd like to know what you have been reading, was it to learn more about midnight?" Su was the one to ask and she had already sniffed out walkers reason.

"Well I guess if you already know why" walker was slightly discouraged but not enough to stop him. "I wanted to find out what to expect from her growth, I learned about why to expect when it comes to wings and even skills. The first being the easier to Understand. Sadly we don't know what kind of dragon her father is so we just need to wait to see if she learns anything species specific."

"So she'll be flapping around our heads sometime soon huh? Should be fun I doubt any enemies would see her coming." Gil was imagining midnight swooping in and carrying off annoying monsters so they could wander unhindered during quests.

"I'm not sure when but yes eventually she'll shed her baby scales and expose her wings along with some adult scales that will grow with her. I also figured out for sure why she ate one of those crystals, they make her bones and scales stronger so we might need to buy some more. Actually we came across this dragon fruit at the alchemist building and I thought it might be useful for her." Walker pulled the fruit from his inventory.

" this in theory should strengthen her mind and magical might. Hopefully she likes it if not I may have bought a class specific fruit for no reason." Before anyone was able to ask another question midnight had already abandoned the chicken she was eating and neatly jumped up on top of Walker lap.

"Well I guess this settles whether you want the fruit or not." Walker took his dinner knife slicing the fruit and taking ten small pea sized red seeds from inside before setting the fruit in a place for midnight. She quickly scarfed them down causing everyone to wonder if she had even chewed. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴

"Honey was that good?" Hilda had taken to calling midnight honey. This was due to the hours midnight would spend watching her cook and helping as Hilda would say, clean up the scraps.

A small wisp of flame escaped midnight maw and she appeared to become drowsy. Laying her head on walkers lap she drifted off to sleep completely forgetting she still had food left. Walker pet her head to make sure she was alright and found she was warmer than usual. This must be the effects of the fruit he thought.

"Well I guess I get to carry midnight to bed" at this joke everyone seemed to laugh and smile a bit. They had all come to adore the little dragon even though some had of them just met her.

Walker was able to avoid cleanup as he reminded the others that they would have a party meeting to go over their quest.

"So I'm pretty sure we've done everything so we should be able to collect the rewards. I've been wondering though, where is the study? I walked the whole house and nothing." Walker had ignored the issue of the study this whole time not being able to find it.

"We talked about this as we bumped in to each other and no one found a study in this whole place. The closest thing was the library I guess." Gil had also made sure to check every room and door.

"It must be hidden then so that's why it's a reward. Systems sure are amazing to find something hidden." Su was high lighting a feeling everyone had every time they used their systems.

"Let's collect this then so we can have an answer!" Walker went to look at his system quests.

'Quest: a home fit for a hero. has been completed

Rewards:

50 exp multiplied to 500exp

Location of the study...

1. Enter the library

2. Move the chair with the wobbly leg

3. Step on the loose floorboard beneath

4. Follow the stairs that appear.'

"Holy heavens that experience is crazy! We're going to be too strong at this rate! We need take a test to bring our adventurer tier up!" Gil was the only one to shout in surprise as the others were stunned.

"Wait guys let's find that stupid study thing before we freak out about levels and experience. I want to know where it is!" Remey had been frustrated by not being able to find a room in a building they now owned. Her curiosity had overpowered her excitement.

Walker was the first to stand "race you all to the library!" He'd done it now, he began running leaving everyone in the dust. Gil was the first to realize "oh hell no get your weak ass back here!" He's let himself go full throttle to catch up to walker. Midnight awoke saw this, she excitedly ran behind, she may not have known what the plan was but everyone seemed to be excited.

Remey and Su stood back a bit, "he Remey? Thanks for that tea earlier it was really helpful." Su smiled happy to have a friend who cared for her family as well.

"Pshh it's to be expected, you all will have to deal with me since you're family now!" Remey ran off without another word but she was smiling bigger than she had ever done before. Su started to run behind her a bit, her slow pace as a defensive class allowed her to wipe her tears. Her father had been stressed for years trying to help her mother. Su had always felt too weak to do anything but now? That is all changing, she had more family and a way to get stronger to find the best medicines.

She soon caught up to everyone to see walker moving a chair " I fixed the leg thinking it was broken yesterday but who would have thought it was like that on purpose." Walker was glad he had remembered because if he hadn't they would be stomping the stepping under chairs all night.

"Ha! Found it this board is loose I bet this one moves when I step on it." Walker places his foot down. Click! They all heard the noise then felt the floor vibrate. Fshzzzz a bookcase sank in the the wall and slid back revealing stone steps leading to a basement room.

The party slowly made their way down the steps finding they came out to a very large area with stone supporting pillars. The study took up the entirety of the mansion in space. This was easily called a lab than a study. Along one side were cages with black bars and small runes inscribed in them. "This must be where she kept the monsters for her experiments." Walker mumbled and shook his head. They noticed some had bones of various monsters still there and made note to clean it all out properly later.

Towards one end of the massive room there was separate areas for alchemical brewing along with a large discretion table holding various tools. The bookshelves next to the table held books labels experiment 1 all the way to experiment 607. "I can't believe the previous owner we experimented and logged everything here." Gil had pulled a random book looking through it before her stopped suddenly "guys...one ingredient for this potion was the blood of an infant beast man...this is terrible..." Gils face was twisted in disgust. The thought of abusing a child in such a way to play around with potions what horrifying.

"When I first cleaned the library I found an journal made by the daughter of this mansion, she tested many things to try and save her mother from an illness. Loosing both her parents truly took a toll on her mind..." the news was not what walker wanted to share with his party but it was inevitable.

"I can understand why, but this is too much." Su had also pulled a book looking at some of the drastic measures that had been taken.

Remey had taken a book with a lesser number and didn't see the horrors her friends did. " this one here is testing herbs only to make a stronger health potion, there's theories about combining it with mana potion ingredients to make a new potion." With this they realized that the experiments became worse and worse the more they went on. Once monsters had been used things began to turn ugly.

Moving away from the books walker found a wall holding shelves and shelves of potions all labeled with numbers in reference to books. The bottles held a magical flicker meaning they were still usable.

"Guys there's potions over here, well have to do some reading to find out what all of these are. If they are dangerous we should burn the notes and potions, if they are safe maybe we can use them especially the health potions." Walker knew that some things weren't meant to exist so burning the darker potions was the safest option. Now they could take the time to figure it out.𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝘯𝑒𝘵

The party began lining up books next to each potion on the ground. There were many without matches which walker assumed meant they were toxic. However reading the related books would explain the potions effects.

Only about twenty were there, the first eight seemed like variations of healing potions. This was the earlier experiments which seems to be experimenting using herbs that focused on blood flow and skin development. The theories were very sound and could show developments in quality. Their colors started out red but slowly became a shade of purple telling them that some mana potion ingredients had been added to try to make a different potion.

There were two green potions after this, these were interesting since the books stayed that these were made using fast growing ingredients. These ingredients when mixed properly created a potion that boosted agility! These were very expensive potions and could really effect the tide of a battle. Walker immediately labeled them agility and stowed them away.

Four potions next were strange, they were a yellowish gold color with flecks of black in them. Remey and Gil were reading from a row books pertaining to them with confused faces. "I'm not sure any of this makes sense, these are not toxic at all from what the reading says, but the effects are worded weirdly." Gil was happy to know they weren't dangerous but the next few entries didn't hold any logic. "It's made from golden slime cores but can a slime really be gold colored?" Gil hadn't realized the was such a species of slime.

"It says this potion causes growth, what does that even mean!? It doesn't make sense. It keeps saying it makes someone grow for a set period of time, does that mean I'll get taller if I drink it?" Remey was not happy to see that she couldn't figure out the exact effects of drinking.

"Well you said it's not toxic sooo" walker grabbed one and removed the cork. He brought the vial to his lips and gulped down half the potion.

'Growth potion has been consumed by the user, for the next 12 hours exp earned will be doubled'

"...oh my holy lord..." walker saw this system notification and walker was stunned.

"What! What's it doing? Do you feel taller?" Remey was letting her curiosity get the best of her. However everyone else had also looked towards him as well.

"Growth means exp. it's doubled...for twelve hours" walkers words were almost a whisper as he didn't even know this kind of potion existed.

"wait you said double exp! I've heard only royalty has ever had such potions! But I thought it was a rumor spread out of jealousy." Su was the one to burst out. Everyone knew royalty had the ability to gain resources others could only dream of but now that the left knew this it was a whole other level.

"I think we need to go out on an extermination quest, we can take advantage of these potions and also help out someone with a monster infestation." Gil had already thought of a way to optimize their questing and growth.

"Perfect! So we can go out and beat up some pests and get stronger, my kind of quest." Remey was getting excited for this kind of potion.

"Before we get too ahead of ourselves, has anyone read about those seven black potions there?" Su was the one to break the mood knowing if they ignored it they might not get back to the task at hand.

They all looked and grabbed books, these related to some higher numbered experiments putting everyone on edge. From what walker could see these potions were mostly made from a special organ in an obsidian rhino. This was a notoriously tough monster to fight, it's skin was extremely thick and its temper very short. They would rarely leave the northern part of the country but every once in a while would stampede causing whole areas to become destroyed. It comparison to this a few herbs were used that bolstered energy, some of which were usually not used in potions at all but in teas.

"Rage potions" Gil said two words that did not sound good "the effects are heightened strength at the loss of mental capacity. After use the affected will fall in to a coma for at least a month" 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃ𝚘𝚖

"Well those are dangerous, I understand being stronger can save a situation but if you can't think properly what's to stop you from killing yourselves or your own party?" Walker really disliked these potions, he couldn't find any good reasons to use them. "As much as I think we should throw these potions out I actually think some adventurers would use these. And since they don't seem to be made in a cruel way I can justify selling them. But I refuse to consider using these."

"Agreed" Gil, Remey and Su responded immediately, they also didn't wish to ever use these potions but understood some adventurers fighting styles were more barbaric.

"I think we could ask Barry if he would use them to be honest, his nickname is berserker." Su had remembered the vice guild masters nickname well. This idea was good for someone with a solo fighting style in a pinch.

Walker nodded his head accepting this idea. They all knew Barry had many years of adventuring under his belt so he could make the proper decision in using or not using theses.

"I'm sure there are still some things to discover down here but I think we've found enough for now, we can check it out more tomorrow. Plus I know everyone's been waiting to check out the results of our exp for completing the quest." Walker had decided they'd waited long enough to see who leveled up from the crazy amount of exp they received.

They all went to look at their systems, smiles breaking out on their face, however from this last burst of exp it looked like midnight may have gained the most levels.

Walker had seen the system and noticed immediately that midnight had grown two whole levels!

Midnight was now level 4 and needed 800exp to get to level 5. Monsters stats are so high but their exp requirements will dwarf a humans in time.

Walker, Su, and Gil had reached level 6 slowly but surely catching up to Remey who was at level 7. They all needed 640exp to get to level 7 where as Remey needed 1280exp. Walker started doing the math and wondered what came after so many levels. Every system had different requirements that would show themselves over time. Walkers father had to continually gain experience but for him he got it just by being at his job. There had been master systems that after certain levels required special conditions to be fulfilled.

There were some like tamers that were required to strengthen their bonds with tamed monsters. Even the the ruling class systems would be based off of the strength of the country or forces they ruled. Within these strange requirements and conditions it was often found that the exp needed to level up would no longer double but become a constant cap. Bringing these thoughts together with the hero title multiplying the exp the party received it raised a question. If our exp was to become constant or bound by other rules of the system, would our growth continue to skyrocket?

The inter workings of the systems was a complicated creature to study and no amount of lifetimes could reach a truth behind it.

"Hey heelloooo there... Ah welcome back to reality." Gil was waving his hand in front of walker who had been too focused on his thoughts to hear anything else. "We were just saying we should find a quest to take tomorrow, maybe travel somewhere to take advantage of these potions, our title, and maybe even take the adventurers ranking test so we can advance a tier as a party. With our level increase it just makes sense."

Walker realized he had been too focused on ten steps ahead and neglected the first step ahead. "I'll talk to Clara in the morning, the test always sends a party out to a certain area to gather specific monster parts as evidence. We may be able to prioritize one with the most benefits. But for now let's go to sleep, I feel like we all have a lot to think about and rest could clear our minds." Everyone agreed with this plan, mostly because they had been snickering a bid at midnight who was falling back to sleep as they all talked.

The party went to their rooms realizing just how late it had gotten and slept the night away.

As soon as the sun broke Walker, Su, midnight, Gil, and Remey were woken by a system message,

'Titled quest: The heroic party

Each member of a heroic party has a place to stand. This place highlights their strengths and protects each other's weaknesses. Each member shall receive specific quests.

Requirements:

Reach silver tier party

Reach level 15 and unlock heroic leveling

Complete daily quest (1 for each member)

Become known as a heroic party.

Rewards:

100exp

Locked:::

Locked:::

Locked:::'

'Daily quest: jack of all trades system

You are the pillar of the party. Your words are respected and those around you look to you for support.

Requirements:

Assist the defender-Su

Assist the scout- Gil

Assist the attacker- Remey

Assist the wild card-Midnight

Rewards:

50exp

Multi buff skill'

The clamor within the mansion was enough to wake the dead. Each one of them rushed to get dressed and immediately ran to find one another. This hero title had just thrown something crazy at them.

This titled quest was not something easy to achieve but just getting the requirements would be an amazing feat. The experience would be a great help to each of them. However locked rewards? Why were rewards locked? Does this mean they weren't qualified to view them? What could unlock them? Would they be able to collect them after completing the quest? There were too many questions.

Once they all found each other near the front hall everyone talked at once spewing out questions statements. Sadly the ruckus was not understandable and many minutes passed before they had returned to being calm to a degree.

"So my daily quest is to help all of you so let's start with Su" walker wanted to get things rolling and head to the adventurers guild to ask for a test to rank up their tier.

"Actually my quest is to guard Remey from danger today. It specifically says to stay vigilant as I travel." Su had been standing slightly closer to Remey and now the reason was clear. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝘯𝑒𝑡

"Well mine is to demonstrate the unyielding will of a front line attacker, so if you can give me an opening for that somehow they your job is done" Remey flexed her fists as she spoke. Her eagerness for a fight was clear but walker was unsure how to complete this quest immediately.

"Well that's my turn then, my quest is to observe and spot weaknesses of the party members. This is kind of strange but since I have skills that allow me to scout it makes sense." Gill had a pensive look on his face. His eyes were fluid drifting to each member constantly.

"I'd like to say we can figure out midnights but she can't really tell us huh?" Walker knew this was a tough one but had faith midnights would be able to compete it. "I'll just have to keep an eye out and if I notice something midnight wants I'll try to help out." Walker was confident in their abilities.

"Oh I almost forgot if we're going to the guild I need to grab those rage potions to see if Barry is interested." Realizing walker had been distracted and didn't store the rage potions he resigned himself to go to the hidden study. "I'll meet you guys back here in half an hour if you want to all grab food for the walk?!" Walker turned and started heading to the library.

Easily descending the hidden stairs and getting down to the study walker stored away the the rage potions and rushed to head back.

THUDD!

Walker tripped and landed face first in the floor. "Ugh whyyyyy" walkers exclamation want heard as he was alone. He looked down wondering what he had tripped on only to find a section of the stone floor had shifted revealing an open storage space.

Slowly pulling himself to his knees still a bit muddled due to his fall he found that the space under the shifted floor was large. Walker pushed the stone revealing three medium crates. Pulling the first one out was a bit tough it was very heavy.

He pulled the lid off the top to reveal at least twenty transparent blue crystals. These were water magic crystals. These were water crystals! This must have been the daughter's store of water crystals to assist in her water magic.

As a party, they didn't need the water crystals for and magical reasons, however, if they brought these to the forge they may be able to sell them and buy some dark crystals for midnight. Walker stored the crate away curious to see if the other two crates were the same.

The second one Walker pulled up was not as heavy as the first which piqued Walker's curiosity. Once the lid was off walker saw some herbs in small vials. Some had aged poorly and looked to be nothing but dust, others looked perfectly preserved. Walker was thinking he should bring these along to the alchemist guild for some clarification. His all around appraisal could help give him insight but he won't truly know the uses. It would be interesting to see the kind of herbs that the daughter of the family had viewed as important to stow away.

The third crate was smaller than the other two and Walker easily pulled it up from the storage. Upon opening the lid he realized it was full of sawdust. Picking up a handful and using all around appraisal walker saw that it was sawdust from an oak tree. He could only wonder why this was so important. He went to grab another handful and realized there was a slimy of black from the sawdust. Walker began clearing the dust away. Once revealed a large fist sized egg that was smooth and dark black. This must have been the egg from the snake she had used as prion experiment ingredients! If so it had been down here for maybe years not hatching or anything. Was it dead? Walker wanted to check with his all around appraisal skill,

'Abyssal serpent egg (dormant)

Abyssal serpents live in dark places but will often leave to absorb light as energy before returning to deep pits or caves. These serpents can grow to great sizes and are often believed to be evil due to their color and ability to devour light. Their extremely tough creatures due to their fast healing capabilities and were once revered as immortal. Eggs are rarely found as they need to absorb light for a lengthy amount of time before hatching is possible.'

Walker was surprised, such a rare creature had been hunted down and killed. Not to mention it had even had an egg within it that was capable of lying dormant for years until the right time to hatch. Another thing that struck walker was that it had been revered as immortal due to its healing capabilities, could this have been the serpent the family crest had been founded on? How strange fate worked that this egg would come to exist here. After being trapped here for years walker believed this baby serpent deserved a chance at life. He stored the egg in his inventory and decided that come the night he would form a contract with it before it hatched so that it would become part of the family as well. He didn't necessarily want it for its fighting capabilities but to give it a chance at an adventurous life. Also, the idea of midnight getting a younger sibling made him giggle.

Walker was about to leave when he saw underneath was a small pendant. There was a woven leather cord and a metal snake biting its tail. Using his skill walker checked it,

' immortal serpent pendant

Assists the body in natural healing +2hp every 10 minutes'

Walker had definitely found a priceless family heirloom and was unsure what to do. There was no family left alive to deliver it to, and his party technically owned the mansion now. Walker stored it away thinking that it might be wise to give this to Su since she would often be taking damage. Realizing he had spent a lot of time down in the study he jumped up and ran back towards the front hall, he had definitely left everyone waiting.

Upon his return, he noticed Remeys annoyed face, "what the heck took you so long? I know we just moved in but did you really get lost?" Yup Remey wasn't too happy but walker was sure he could change her mind.

Walker recounted the discovery greatly downplaying his minor face plant. "So after finding all that you want me to wear this pendant?" Su held up the immortal serpent pendant questioning its abilities " I feel bad we can't return it to the family but I agree that giving it to me is a wise move leader. I will be at risk on the front lines of battle." Su began nodding at the positive though process behind this decision.

"So basically midnights getting a little sister or brother? As long as it's a cute little noodle I won't be too upset with you for being late. But if it's mean looking I'm going to show you how I kept the kids in line when they got in trouble." Remey sent a glare at walker but the small smirk was evident.

" I guess stopping by the forge and alchemist building is also on the to do list for today. I agree that we should find the proper items for midnights growth, you did say that it would help strengthen her scales and since she will grow to a young adult sooner or later it's the same as us eating vegetables." Gil recalled all the times his mother had yelled at him to finish his carrots or he wouldn't grow right.

"Remey I'm sure with your friend's help at the alchemist building we can identify some of the herbs I found. I can figure out what they are with my skill but there's no point if I don't know what they are used for. I'll be relying on you." Walker laid on the sweet words to put Remey back in a good mood knowing she could put up a fight against the old man there.

"Yea I know I'm the only one who can do it, you're right o choose me for this." Walker felt that he may have stoked Remey's ego a bit too much but was prepared. 𝚋𝚎𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎𝚕.𝚗𝚎𝚝

"On that note let's get moving, we have a lot to do today." Walker started out the door.

The walk to the lower tier was uneventful. They had learned that traveling early in the morning was the best way to go so they truly enjoyed their walk.

The party was traveling down the street with the forge in their view. It looked like they had just gotten a delivery of ores as a carriage was parked outside. A pair of strong looking smiths were unloading crates full of the ores. Some shined silvery others a dark black. These must be the basics to create the common steel items produced here.

The party stopped by the carriage being unloaded " Gil, you take the crystals inside to sell and buy dark crystals. That would let us go to the alchemist guild. It should save us a little time." Walker wanted to find a good quest as soon as possible to optimize their new found potions. Plus he was a little excited.

"Sure thing, it'll be easier for one person to get in there while they are unloading anyways" Gil took the crystals from Walker and headed in. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮

As Remey turned to head in to the alchemy building a man carrying two crates came around the corner of the carriage.

"Ahh ugh" the man stubbed his foot in the wheel of the carriage and the two crates began to slide and fall out of his hands.

A crate full of ores was falling over Remeys head "quick guard!" Su used her skills to get her shield over Remey the last second the crate began to fall but her shield was being pushed back.

"I've got you!" Walker seeing this happening jumped forward to help push the crate off the shield.

Thunk Creeack

The crate hit the ground with a thud and cracked. The weight could have seriously Injured Remey.

"Hey you oaf you could have hurt me, you know that!" Remey cracked her knuckles starting to reprimand the man. "Do you even know that I was there? Could you even see me?" Walker joined in, the Adrenaline fueling him for the moment.

" you need to carry less if you can't see in front of you! What if it was a child running by? Who would have explained to their parents?." The man's face immediately became pale. He apologized profusely promising he wouldn't be rushing things again. However they didn't hold any true ill will towards him knowing it was an accident and helped gather the contents of the cracked and broken crate that had fallen. After a few moments the man returned to work.

"Well that was a wake up call for sure!" Walker was now on high alert after this spike in energy." He looked over at Remey and Su who were smiling like fools. "What? Is there something in my face?" Walker wasn't sure what was going on.

Remey and Su looked at each other as said in unison "daily quest complete!" Su had protected Remey with Walker's help and the scolding from Remey and the scolding walker had brought down definitely showed an unyielding will. "Huh so I guess Remey's mom mode in scolding really shows her will." Walker teased Remey, making her blush and raise her fist threateningly.

"Ugh if you want to get beat stay here, if you want to get those herbs figured out follow me. I'm fine if you don't though." Remey stuck her tongue out at Walker and walked in to the alchemist building.

The same smell and scene appeared as the last time they had gone to the building and it caused Walker to feel more at home and relaxed. The same old man was sitting behind the counter drinking a steaming cup of tea. Upon seeing Remey he smiled "oh and back again because you missed me? I didn't think the hot tempered little gal like you could miss me." He laughed at his own little joke.

"Pfft keep spouting nonsense and we might not show you something good." Remey knew this was the best way to pique his interest and proceeded to fire away an air of mystery.

" And here I thought you'd just come to show off another of your party members." The old man smirked then looked at walker, "so what have you got today?"

Walker pulled the crate from his storage and placed all the dried and preserved herbs on the counter.

" Hmm from left to right you've got some purple mink flower; used for muscle cramps. Seeping vines; the sap will crystallize and is good for blood flow. Oooo you have some rock ferns they are rare; mainly used in defensive potions. Rag weed; very common to use to meld bitter ingredients in to potions for children. Babies breath; it's not a potion ingredient but a popular flour with women. Ah! You have angels wing! These seeds are extremely rare! They only grow in high elevations, the flowers look like angels wings and the pollen is amazing for enhancing the effectiveness of almost any potion. I'll buy it all!" The man sudden outburst caused them to jump but it was clear they had something very useful.

"We'll sell you half no more no less. We will be growing the remainder in our garden to use ourselves. But we could be convinced to bring some by for you when it blooms. Well also sell half of the rock fern. The rest of them well keep." Remey had going in to bartering mode stumping the old man who wanted all the angels wing seeds.

"Pfft again with you always making things tough. Fine I'll that both at half for 95G. But you're better selling the whole to me growing them is very tough." The man shook his head not believing they could possibly grow it.

"Don't you worry we have a skilled farmer, 120G because you doubt us." Remey smirked knowing the next offer would be the one to take as she drove the price too high.

"Grr you brat! Fine 105G and promise not to spill a word to anyone about this. Once it's grown it will cause a commotion in the alchemist circles. People might even try to steal it." The old man didn't like spending the extra gold but cared enough to warn them of the risks.

"I knew we could reach a reasonable deal old man, thanks for the heads up. We won't say a word." Remey grabbed the gold with a smile while Walker collected the remaining herbs.

"It was nice meeting you sir, good luck with your new project." Su was very polite and this got a large smile from the old man.

"Yes, my project hahaha glad to have seen another member of little Remeys party feel free to visit anytime." With that, they headed out the door to join back up with Gil.

Upon exiting the building they saw Gil standing a bit from the door holding a small crate. "Hope your luck was good as mine! 13 darkness crystals and 40G. A fair price based off the market." Gil was proud to announce his success.

Perfect "hey midnight Gil got you a snack for while we travel!" Midnight looked excited knowing what they were already. She had been patiently waiting outside and Walker was very tempted to reward her. However, he knew she would want to nap after eating one so he held himself back.

Walker stored the crystals for later. "We found something challenging for your mother to grow." Walker smirked knowing if she succeeded in growing the angels' wing seeds their funds would be ever increasing. "We also got some babies breath seeds so we'll always have nice center pieces. You should give them to your mother as a gift. Walker tossed Gil the babies breath seeds knowing that they may just help the mansion be more like home for the family who was used to the open fields.

"Come on you guys we've got places to be!" Remey has started moving towards the adventurers guild with a mischievous look.

"Hmm Remey always rushes forward in to things." Gil made a general comment based off of what he'd noticed.

"Yes, it can be good in surprise attacks but could hold us back in a situation that needs a delicate touch" walker agreed with the statement but also saw the good in her actions.

Unknowingly the two were completing Gil's daily quest. Their analysis of Remey's actions and tendencies was part of the understanding the roles each other played. This would show its merits in many battles to come.

The entire walk to the guild walker and Gil talked about what each person brought to the party. Surprising walker Gil was very hard in himself about his weaker defense but did recognize he had the highest ability to properly scout a safe path for their travels. Walker brought up the agility issue with Su and Gil recognized that it could be adjusted with the proper gear and leveling. Gil also was worried over midnight easily distracted attitude as she seemed to want to rush to new things constantly. Walker knew that would be a tough problem to tackle as it was one of many. However, he was more concerned about trying to work towards midnight gaining a speaking ability. This would solve a lot of communication issues between her and others.

Upon reaching the guild Gil brought up how Walker had easily become lost in thought and didn't even notice they'd reached their destination. Walker couldn't argue this, the whole party already understood his diversity in skills and knowledge but this weakness could potentially lose an easy battle. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑐𝑜𝘮

"Thanks for the talk Gil, I think we understand the party much better now. Once we get outside the walls we can put some things to use. Now we can open a party bank account, register for the advancement test, and hopefully sell Barry some potions." The errands had just begun and now they had the main reason for their outing.

Entering the guild they noticed more looks from the other adventurers than usual. Word had begun to spread of them achieving a title making them a popular gossip topic. Many eyes lingered on midnight as most people had a hard time believing a monster would gain a title of hero. Humans and other races often feared dragons.

Knowing the party was on their way Clara was ready to greet them at the counter "welcome back! I'm glad to see everyone looking well rested. I was a bit worried the change of scenery would affect your sleep." Clara had truly begun to care for her new party as did many managers after accepting the responsibilities.

"Good morning Clara!"Walker was happy to see Clara was on top of her game and ready for the day. "Before we get to some other big things we would like to open a party bank account. I know you recommended it a little while ago and it would really make us more efficient in sending quest rewards directly to the bank."

Adventurers whose parties opened accounts with the bank were able to directly send their rewards there to pick up later. This included items, gold, and even some amount of paper works. This was very efficient for longer journeys away from a place they could receive such rewards.

"Yes I've actually already filled out the paperwork for you, all that's needed is each members fingerprint to complete the seal. This will be required for each withdrawal or deposit. Also I will require 100G as an opening deposit." Walker handed over the gold and each took turn fingerprinting a contract. When it came to midnight they used the tip of her tail. Unknown to the party Clara informed them that she had been reading up on dragons and found that the tips of their tails had unique scale placement for each dragon that would stay the same their entire lifespan. This news surprises walker who committed it to memory.

"Now that should finalize your account. What are these big things you all have planned?" Clara had become curious since they hadn't mentioned anything else as of yet.

"Before we get to our main reason for today's visit we were wondering if Barry was around?"

Clara was a bit surprised by the question but the party was in luck.

"Barry is actually out in the training field, we were short an examiner for a new adventurer today and he jumped in to fill the spot. He finished up moments ago and is still out there, you should be able to catch him."

Walker and the party knew they were in luck "thank you, we'll be back in as soon as we talk to him. The main reason we can is to take an advancement test. We know there are many things to look at and prepare so we wanted to come early." Walker let Clara know their main reason for visiting so she could prepare while they spoke to Barry.

"Ah yes I had a feeling you'd want to test sooner than later, I'll have some things ready for when you come back inside."

Clara began grabbing papers from here and there. The party turned and headed out the door leading to the training field.

The second the door opened to the fields the view again left them in awe. The guild really had an amazing training field. Spotting Barry was easy. He stood by the racks of weapons where Walker had taken his own test.

Barry quickly noticed the party approaching " you all know you're already part of the guild and don't need to test right?" Barry chuckled at his own joke.

"Well duh! We came here for something else. Hmpf" Remey took Barry too seriously only increasing his laughter.

"We actually came across some potions we think you might be interested in." Walker took the lead before Remey could get more fired up at Barry's joking. "These potions are called rage potions, we came across them while cleaning out the mansion." Walker pulled the potions from his inventory setting them on a nearby table with a few daggers in it.

"Ooohh and you knew they were rage potions from their looks?" Barry's voice had some surprise within it not realizing they had knowledge of alchemy.

"Well after some research we were able to find notes. Apparently, this potion is made from an obsidian rhino organ. It's will enhance strength but weaken the mind. Also, it comes with drawbacks after it wears off." Walker wanted to showcase their knowledge to prove to Barry they didn't just use some skill but actually took the time to learn about the potions' origin.

"Well well, I'm surprised you all found these. It's been some years since I've purchased any due to their rarity. Most people wouldn't buy these due to the drawbacks but luckily I have my ways to counteract them. Hmmm, my stock has fallen to 12 rage potions so 6 more would be a nice boost." Barry was staring off in to the distance while figuring out what to say to them. He only ever used these potions in dire situations but as the vice guild leader he often was sent on dangerous quests. "I can take them off your hands. I'll find a use for them in the future without doubts. I'll offer you..." he trailed off not sure what price would be fair.

Walker had a thought earlier and since Barry was the vice guild leader he felt it would be alright to ask this. "Actually it can be items and gold to make the difference. The reason I ask this is I've realized I don't have a short ranged weapon. I learned a weapon specific skill when I took my test to join the guild. So I have hopes you could give me that scythe over there as part of the payment?" Walker recalled his crescent moon skill and decided that the party's goal for advancement could put them in a situation where magic was not the best option.

"Haha perfect then you may take that weapon and I'll give you 400G. Also ask Clara to give you the core of the monster I killed last week. I have no use for its core but you might." Barry was happy to sneak in something mysterious. He had wanted to find a way to pass off the item to them curious about what they would do with it.

"Thank you!" Walker was happy to get what they needed but also intrigued by the other item Barry had given them.

"Now take your stuff and hurry along, I should have another newbie coming any time now." Barry shooed them away while walker stored the gold and his new close combat weapon.

' razor scythe

+10atk

+5def'

Walker had used his skill on the scythe and didn't think the benefits were bad at all. Knowing his spatial magic could greatly assist his fighting style. He would not need to worry over an enemy becoming too close. After Barry's shooing they returned inside to the counter only to find Clara with three stacks of paperwork.

"Welcome back, I'm sure you found Barry alright by the smiles on your faces." Clara was about to start on the advancement explanation but walker was quick.

"Barry actually told us to ask you to give us the core of a monster he fought last week. I'm not sure what exactly he fought but it was part of our deal." Walker was worried he'd interrupted Clara and looked down in embarrassment.

"Well isn't that a surprise, and here I bet he would just sell it like in the past, just one moment." Clara disappears in to the back of the building only to return a few moments later.

"This is the steel golems core, he went to deal with one causing trouble in the mines. "I'll let you all figure out what to use it for," Clara smirked and handed over the small grey ball. Walker was curious about what she meant but decided to worry over it at another time and stored it away.

"Now the advancement test is held over a minimum of one month and a maximum of two months. You will receive a location to travel and must bring back proof your party has defeated certain monsters known to live within the area. Depending on the area you may also be required to show proof of items, herbs, or knowledge obtained while there. Based off of what you bring back your results will be calculated. It has been heard that some parties jump two ranks higher but that is rare. If you proceed safely I fully expect your party to be able to rank up." Clara unloaded this information which Walker memorized. They would have an advantage over others with Walker's skill to store away monster bodies, herbs, items, etc.

Clara continued, "I've gathered three options as is the normal amount for each party that requests a test. First; the ancient ruins. The undead are rife in the area and need constant trimming. This area also has many ruins which are not mapped out and hold many secrets. Second; the Marsh lands. There are many poisonous monsters and herbs here along with water dwelling creatures. This is a dangerous area full of things that can mess with a person senses. Many adventurers have become lost in the marsh lands leaving many things to be found. Third; the mountains. This area is tough terrain but filled with many crafting materials. The monsters there have very strong defenses and often the ability to fly or manipulate earth. Many caves and deep ravines hold secrets still. Please think these options over and decide as a party." Clara finished her explanation. She secretly had hopes they would not choose the marsh lands because the poisons there had claimed many young parties. But between the other two options she was unsure which was safer.

Remey, Gil, Su, and even midnight looked at walker with expecting eyes. They trusted his judgment in what the best place would be for them to travel.

Thinking on it walker believed the marsh lands to be the most dangerous. Between poisonous monsters and treacherous terrain it was not an ideal place to spend up to two months.

The mountains sounded promising but progress could be slow going because none of them were equipped to climb. Not to mention mining rare ores would take a lot of time. Even more so flying monsters presented a challenge for Remey and Su which significantly decreased the parties fighting ability.

The ancient ruins sounded troublesome due to the mysteries it's held. The ruins were not mapped so if they got in to trouble no one could easily find them. However on the flip side of that they had high chances of finding things left behind within the ruins. Also due to the high number of undead they could maximize their exp gains.

"I do not want to risk everyone's safety going to the marsh lands, also the mountains seem like they may hinder our progress. This leaves the ancient ruins as our best option." Walker was firm in his choice causing Clara to breath a sigh of relief.

"In that case I will register your party as taking the test by traveling to the ancient ruins south west of the kingdom. Learning about the monsters that inhabit the area is completely on you as the party. Preparations are also up to your discretion. Will you be leaving today or some time in the future? You must begin within three days of registering for the test or you will be penalized." Clara knew they would be wise enough to do some research beforehand but she didn't realize Walker had skimmed many books from the mansions library just in case he needed the knowledge.

"We will begin today, our families are already aware the life of an adventurer and won't worry for us being away for long. We have also mentally prepared for a journey and are excited to be on our way to a new place."Walker wanted to head directly there but knew not to rush too fast in to things.

Clara looked skeptical and decided to test walker a bit as their manager. " name the two most common monsters you'll face along with the most dangerous enemy even a Diamond tier party would avoid."

At the question, walker smirked remembering some books he had looked over while searching for things about dragons. "Skeletons are weak enemies and very common, to defeat them its best to break the skull detaching it from its body. Zombies are also common, they do not care about lost limbs or wounds only destroying their brains or burning them to ash is an option. One stronger monster to avoid is an undead Lich. This is due to their strong magical capabilities allowing them high intelligence. They can also create other undead monsters with a wave of their hand." Walker's answer was logical and to the point. He knew that facts and facts alone would appease their manager.

Clara had a small o with her lips showing her surprise, she had not expected a perfect answer. "Well in that case I wish you luck. I'll send you some quests you can take care of that are in the area." As she had been soundly beaten by logic she decided the best method from here on now was to help the party optimize the time they spent in the ancient ruins.

With that walker and the party left the counter and headed to the South Gate. The travel to the ruins would take a few days but walker was sure they could use that time to better practice some teamwork. They would only have about half a day to travel due to their errands in the morning but it was more than enough to start.

The streets had become busy prompting Walker to keep midnight near. He wasn't so much worried about her being harmed by a carriage transporting goods as he was worried she would break the carriage.

"So what do you think we'll find in the ruins?" Gil was the first to speak up as they walked.

"We'll probably find another potion since we seem to be magnets for them." Remey joked.

"It would be nice to find some gear or weapons crafted by the ancients. Maybe we could learn from them." Su had a royal vision of them bringing back ancient practices to revolutionize the kingdom.

"Exp that's what we'll find!" Walker was having trouble containing his excitement. "Skeletons and zombies are rarely alone so as long as we play it safe we can really level up. Not to mention if I focus on trying to learn a holy/light magic spell that effects an area we could move fast. Really fast." Walker had been thinking about this for a while. Expanding the elements he could use would be invaluable to the party as a whole. And during this test undead type monsters hated holy/light magics.

"Oh hey Clara has already sent a quest for us to add to the list as we travel!" Walker had noticed there were some options available to them. Seeing one that caught his eye was a quest to kill 15 grey haired spiders. These were dinner plate sized spiders that liked to jump and kill birds. They often would attack smaller animals as well. This was a problem for merchants who traveled the area with children so this quest was common in the traveled route.

"We'll be sticking to a merchant route so we should take a quest to kill off some grey hairs spiders. The perk is we don't need to bring in proof since the system will update when we complete it! Not to mention would a hero ignore the safety of those traveling?" Walker smiled at his last question. Any travelers they passed would surely notice the common sight of young adventurers securing the merchant routes. Often they would thank them as they passed. This was a great way to get their name out there as hero's.

' quest accepted

Requirements:

Slay 15 grey haired spiders

Rewards:

20G 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭

Discount coupon with the merchant society auction building'

The party easily left the walls and began their journey. The merchant routes were larger dirt roads made for multiple carriages and guards to pass each other. Many routes veered off towards small towns or trading points. Camping spots were a very common sight along the roads, some people even left pots and pans as good will to other travelers.

Since they were heading south skirting the sun hallowed forest they saw glimpses of flame newts skittering about the rocks. However the farther they walked the less seemed to be sunning themselves. Walker couldn't help but wonder if this was because of the spiders.

"Stop." Gil had whispered in a hushed voice pointing ahead of them at a Boulder on the roadside. "Can you see the spider blending in to the rock? It's waiting to ambush a bird from up high. I think I can snipe it from here." Gil notched an arrow silently. Pulled it's back and let it fly.

Thwack! 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝙢

Dead center, to the others it seemed Gil was going to hit the Boulder and the arrow would fall but to their surprise the arrow stuck to the grey color of the Boulder. They saw a piece of grey fall from it and noticed the outline of a spider with curled legs in the ground, Gils arrow sticking out.

"Wow I didn't realize they blended in to rocks so well. I wouldn't have noticed it." Walker was stunned not only had Gil silently fired an arrow with accuracy he had also noticed such a well camouflaged monster.

" the trick isn't to look for them but to look for part of a stone that seems too perfect. The hair on the spiders doesn't have the rough texture as stone does. I picked it up since these stupid things used to come try and get at the baby cows our neighbor had. So naturally as a good neighbor would do my father would kill them on sight." Gil was proud to showcase a skill his father had taught them.

"But how were you able to let loose that arrow so quietly? We were right next to you and didn't even hear the release of the bow." Su knew for sure she should have heard the twang of the bowstring as the arrow was loosed.

Gils smile was sheepish "I kinda got a new skill last level up, it's called silent shot." Gil rarely spoke of his skills and was embarrassed that Su was amazed by it.

Checking the system walker saw good news,

' one grey haired spider defeated. Gained 5exp multiples to 50exp'

The smile only grew bigger on his face knowing the party would be gaining a lot from a simple quest.

Hours passed as they traveled every once in a while Gil would spot a spider. Walker had managed to spot two as well but was no where near the talent Gil had finding them. By the time the sun was setting they had defeated 8 spiders total. This gave them 400exp which was astounding compared to what others would receive.

They party had decided to find a spot to camp for the night and luckily heard some chatting in the distance. Rounding a bend they came to a flat open spot. Three people sat around a blazing fire. A pot of stew was boiling away above the flames. There was one man organizing a large backpack. He seemed very used to traveling having well developed muscles and sharp eyes. The woman that was casually tossing Ingredients in to the stew was thinner but looks seemed to be deceiving based on her speed of adding ingredients. She had a seriousness about her that showed from in the lines of her face. The third person was a young girl looking to be about ten who was drowsing in the warmth of the fire. She looked surprisingly strong for the age but it was obvious it came from traveling as her clothing showed wear and tear from long walking.

The man had noticed them the second they rounded the corner "heeyyoo looking for a spot to lay yer head ey?" His speech was odd but relaxed. He must have been used to passing other travelers.

"Yes we are about to call it quits for the day, if you don't mind us joining you we can offer some bread for your stew? It's freshly baked this morning." Walker knew everyone would be hungry and making a trade would help break the ice with the travelers.

"Bread!" The young girl came out of her half asleep state and popped her head up. "We have been out of bread for two week! What kind is it? Where'd you get it? Is it soft or crispy?" She began running questions from her mouth not even waiting for an answer.

"Tia! You'll scare em off calm down!" The woman scolded the girl. "Please come sit we always welcome others it's our policy, we'll accept your bread for some stew but we also require a story." She smirked knowing that long days of travel often became boring and hearing new things was a great way to stay of the right mind.

"Thank you very much, we will definitely take you up on that! My names walker." Walker I traduced himself as it was polite.

"Gil here" Gil raised his hand walking to sit down.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Su." Su gave a nod and followed Gil

"Remey, but you can call me dragon fist!" Remey had decided she wanted an adventurers nick name like Barry and Ibis so tried one out as a test.

"Pffft dragon fist huh? Since when do people call you that?" Gil was doubled over in laughter prompting Remey to flush red and immediately run at him. Luckily for Gil he was adept at dodging Remey.

Ignoring their rambunctious actions walker pointed towards midnight who had blended with the darkness. "This is our final member midnight, no need to be afraid she's just like you or I." Walker was a bit worried seeing the girl Tias eyes widen but the man nodded accepting it. He had run in to tamers before and long ago accepted dining with strange creatures.

"Hmm call me Rob, my wife here is Elise. Finally our daughter Tia. We travel here and there seeing the world. Trading what we can. We've never felt the need to settle down." He didn't sound tired at all, it was actually the opposite. Upon mentioning traveling the world his eyes glinted with passion.

Walker used his inventory to pull out two loafs of bread his mother had made earlier in the day. As he began tearing bits off for everyone he began speaking. " so you said you'd like to hear a story right? How does one sound about five adventurers who obtained the title of hero sound?" The party all looked at each other smiling at walkers words. The three travelers were confused but ready to listen. As the night went on and they ate walker began their story, how they found midnight and joined together. Gil, Remey, and Su joined in as well each saying their part. The shocked faces of Rob, Elise, and Tia doubting they had titles but soon became convinced.

"Well, who would have thought we'd meet budding hero's" Rob laughed at his luck. He had met many different people from bandits to nobles while traveling. However, this was the first person who had a title he had ever met. This just went to show how valuable it was to take the time to speak to someone was.

Soon the fire began to die down, Gil and Su had volunteered to set up the tents they had with Remey cleaning up some of their gear from today's travels. Walker offered to take the first watch for the night as he wanted to show his thanks to the travelers for the stew.

Walker took up a spot a bit farther from the fire so he could see around the bend in the road in case anyone came down it. Surprising him midnight came and sat back to back with him. "You know you can go sleep, I know you like the fire." Walker didn't want to force midnight to stay up after traveling all day but with a snort and a shake of her head, she refused.

Walker was vigilant but started to drift off, however, midnight nudged him to shake him out of it. Soon the reverse happened and midnight began to fall asleep but walker returned the favor leaning in to her and shaking her out of it as well.

' daily quest has been completed.

All party members have successfully been assisted.

Rewards:

50exp multiplied to 500exp

Multi buff skill.

The multi buff skill has been taken from the supporter's system.

Multi buff skill- cost 5 mana

Add multiple enhancements to each party member. Buff include; +2atk, +2matk, +3agi, +2def, +2mdef. '

Walker did not expect this. How had he completed Midnight's daily quest with her? They were just sitting and watching for danger. Was it because they had helped keep each other stay awake? After getting over his confusion, he realized just how great this buff skill was. He could improve the entire party's stats all at once by a decent margin. This would make tougher enemies much easier to deal with.

After looking at the new skill in awe he realized just how many experience points he had gained from this daily quest. If this was the same for everyone they would all be making leaps of levels for a while. Maybe achieving level 15 and unlocking the heroic leveling was easier than they expected.

The remainder of the night passed easily, walker and midnight switched with Su and Gil then later they switched with Rob and Remey. Once the sun began to peek through the night everyone had already gotten up to huddle by the fire and wake themselves with the remaining stew.

"Well we hate to eat and run but my family and I have some clouds to chase." Rob, Tia, and Elise had packed their tent and prepared themselves for more walking. Tia ran up to midnight patting her in goodbye before waving as the trio walked off.

"Well, I guess we should follow their example then," Walker said to everyone. They should get a move in too it would take them a few more days to reach the ruins.

"Who wants to bet Su and I will find the first spider!" Remey had boundless energy as usual.

"Ha! You can't beat walkers and my eyes. We can see through the soul!" Gil met her challenge with vigor.

'Daily quest: spotting the details

Having a keen eye for details is an important quality for a hero.

Requirements: each party member must spot and defeat at least one grey haired spider by themselves.

Rewards:

30exp each party member'

Midnight jumped in excitement at this, she now understood that they were excited to go hunting!

"Well I guess today will be plenty of fun." Walker chuckled seeing their daily quests were all the same. The system had pulled from their rivalry and was helping them push to be better. Being able to strengthen their observation skills without using the system was a great way to sharpen their minds.

After a short time walking the road midnight suddenly sprinted forward pouncing in a small rock. By the time everyone got near her they saw the smallest grey haired spider that had seen, yet pierced by her teeth. "Umm Midnight's in the lead so far." Walker said with a bit of a laugh.

"She's a girl so points for our team!" Remey yelled in triumph. Her face quickly fell as she watched midnight devour the spider. "Maybe we don't count this one."

"Agreed" Gil felt the same about watching midnight eat a spider as Remey. Just too gross. However midnight could not care even a little, she was happy to have a snack.

The day had become cloudy adding an extra challenge to their game. However around midday, they suddenly stopped.

"There's one" Gil, Su, Remey, and Walker said in unison.

Without hesitation, they each jumped in a different direction.

"Quick shot" Gils arrow pierced the spider quickly killing it.

"Shield bash" Su made a quick dash slamming her shield cracking a small rock leaving behind a smashed spider.

"Hammer fist!" Remey clasped her two hands together and released a massive strike completely crushing a larger spider. It didn't even have the chance to move.

Walker had felt he'd focused on magic too much and used his spatial magic to retrieve his scythe. "Crescent moon!" With a swing he sent a wave from the blade slicing a rock in half along with a spider.

However as the wave traveled past that one spider for a small distance he realized he had just made a mistake.

Small skittering sounds could be heard approaching. Not just one set of sounds but many. Normally the spiders didn't congregate however when the females laid eggs they would lay a hundred in a clutch. They would often hatch at the same time occupying the same area for weeks until they spread out or died. 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝙣𝒐𝒗𝙚𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝒎

Walker had just disturbed twenty two of such spiders which were very unhappy their hunting had been interrupted. Sensing the danger walker prepared himself for what came next.

"We've got trouble! Everyone form up on me!" Walker yelled. Gil was the first to get to him seeing the spider's angry approach.

"Wow, you really know how to draw a crowd." Gil was way too relaxed. Walker questioned if he even had a sliver of seriousness sometimes.

Remey and Su were right behind him. "What did you get a skill that makes every spider come bother us?" Remey was trying to hide her disgust. She really didn't like spiders.

The spiders were closing in almost within striking range. Midnight jumped out slashing through one with her claws. 21 left.

"Multi buff!" Walker took the momentary distraction midnight made to buff the group. Being used to walkers surprises by now the party didn't falter.

"I'll take range support!" Gil stepped back notching an arrow.

"Remey Su if you two can get them to group up I can unleash a big attack!" Walker was going to utilize the crescent moon skill again. It was a bit of a drain on mana but the less they had to deal with in a swarm the better.

"Remey I can do this by myself just watch my new skill!" Su broke character and was going to show off. The adrenaline must have gotten to her. "Come at me trash!" With her insult a slight glow engulfed her. Walker had seen this before when he was younger. His father once showed him a taunting skill.

The spiders all instantly turned towards Su stampeding towards her as if driven by madness. "Walker it's all up to you make it a good hit!" Su began jumping backwards to stay out of the way.

"Midnight I'll need you to pounce on the survivors!" Walker's call to midnight was met with a growl. He felt she understood due to their connection so he immediately looses his attack. "Crescent moon, crescent moon! He sent to waves flying at the spiders. Some were split in half while a few managed to survive but lost legs. 4 spiders remained alive.

Midnight pounced on the nearest, tearing it apart. Remey followed her lead "thrash!" She unleashed a series of punches at her fastest speed. They may not have been as strong as other punches she had but the amount of punches couldn't be perfectly defended against. 0 spiders survived the onslaught.

Falling to his butt Walker returned the scythe to his inventory. "Never again!" He yelled and laid back.

"You'll be paying for any nightmares I have about spiders." Remey came over softly punching his leg.

"If He's paying I want minotaur steak, I've always wanted to try it." Gil joined in sensing an opportunity to tease Walker which was rare. "Hey Su, that was the first time I've seen you use a taunting skill. Didn't know you could say mean things." Gil like the others had been surprised by her words not knowing she had a taunt skill.

"I learned it as one of my first skills but I really don't like to use it since I have to say mean things." Su was dejected due to using it. But realized if she hadn't they would still be whittling away the spiders.

Walker, Su, and Gil had all reached level 8 while Remey was on the cusp of level 9. Midnight was not level 6! Her stats still greatly overshadowed the other members but her leveling would greatly slow compared to them. Midnight would need over 700exp more than her party members to level up now. Realizing this walker thought she would be the last to reach level 15.

Gil and Su were smiling as they looked to distribute their points to stats. However, Remey looked more conflicted. "It's going to be hard getting to level 15, isn't it? I'm the only one who didn't level up with the number of spiders we defeated I'm only close." She was shaking her head in doubt.

" I'm not sure how high we can reach in our test but if we really push ourselves and optimize those potions at the right time we just may be able to finish a step ahead." Walker was also thinking of the challenge. If they could work together and utilize Su's taunting skill they may be able to attract high numbers of zombies or skeletons. Walker decided he would start to focus on some large area magic while praying so he could maybe learn a light elemental skill. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴

Noticing Midnight had finished eating walker decided to store the remaining 15 spider bodies. A thought occurred to him, if we had another body we could increase our exp gains...walker hurriedly pulled the abyssal serpent egg from his inventory letting it bask in the light. The others noticed this and bore witness to a strange sight. The egg seemed to glow as it pulled the rays of the sun closer to it.

"Huh isn't that something?" Gil was entranced by this little egg.

"I guess I'll be carrying this today. Tonight I'm going to form a contract with it so when it hatches we can easily welcome it." Walker felt confident that this was the right decision. Even if the progress is slow having another in battle could be a huge help.

They soon got back up and began walking again. Time passed as the sun soon set. They had made great progress so far noticing they could see faint outlines of buildings in the distance. Another day or so of travels and they should be at the start of the ruins.

After finding a nice spot near a large tree the party set up their camp for the night. With the help of midnight walker was able to gather some firewood and start a nice blaze. While Walker did that Remey and Su had managed to find a rabbit grazing nearby and captured it. This was a nice surprise since it was rare to find a regular animal in an area monsters hunted. Gil had set up the tents leaving the only thing left to cook and eat.

Once they had all shared their fill walker decided this was the right time to form a new contract."I'll have to ask you guys to take the watch tonight after I use blood contract I'll be out of mana and probably need some serious sleep." Walker knew it was risky but saw the benefits outweighing the negatives. "Let's do this then" walker prepared himself

Walker placed the egg on a flat part of the ground in front of him. The warmth of the flame was still able to reach the two but it wasn't overpowering. Walker mentally prepared himself for the huge mana drain and tiredness.

The egg had lost its glow as the sun had set but still had echoes of a glimmer in the firelight. "Blood contract" Walker immediately felt all his mana converge to his finger resting above the egg. A drop of shining blood fell from his finger and hit the egg.

'Blood contract skill has been used.

Contract successfully formed with infant abyssal serpent. Upon hatching the user will have access to the abyssal serpents stats and skill information.'

Walker didn't even have time to smile before he passed out. His dreams were of darkness. He wanted to see the light but couldn't find any. Every once in a while a glimmer would appear and he'd run at it only for it to disappear. He was tired and needed it... why couldn't he have it.

Walker shot up from his slumber to see the sun rising. His dreams were fresh in his mind. Was this his new connection with the abyssal serpent egg? Did it want the light so it could finally hatch after years in the dark waiting?

He was about to fall deep in to thought when he smelled some bread warming by the fire. His hunger overcame him and he rushed to join the others eating. " you know we had to drag you to a tent right?" Remey was a bit annoyed Walker had left himself out in the open last night. Not to mention the egg which any number of night predators could have stolen from them.

"Sorry sorry that was my fault I let my excitement cloud my judgement. By the way where's the egg?" Walker didn't see it nearby and became worried.

"I have it!" Su gave a slight shout from a rock she was sitting on while watching the sunset. "I thought it would like to watch the sunset with me since you said it needs light to hatch." Su's kindness was really unmatched.

"It's strange after I made the contract and fell asleep The dreams I had were all about darkness and chasing light. It might be how the serpents felt after years of sleeping." Remey became slightly teary-eyed after hearing this.

"Don't worry little fella we'll get you to hatch and keep you up on endless adventure!" He dramatic jump up with her fist in the air cause everyone to laugh. Midnight was keeping an eye on Su who was holding the egg.

"When that egg hatches it will be your younger sibling you'll need to teach it well," Walker said this when midnight came over to him patting her in the head. Unknown to him midnight had shared the same dreams as he did last night. It would seem the blood contract was more connected than he believed.

The party quickly began on its way once again. After a few hours of travel, Walker could make out a broken spire. This lead down to stone buildings with broken roofs, partial doorways. And even some random pits where houses seemed to fall in to the depths.

Weeds covered what seemed to be an old street. Some archways were still standing, the intricate carvings faded away leaving but a shadow of true artwork. This was once a massive city but overnight had lost its whole population. Nobody had managed to find the true reason behind its downfall its name had been lost to time. Adventurers had discovered that atop the earth the buildings would often hold skeletons and the odd zombie or so that came up from the mass of underground tunnels.

Making it to the center of the ancient ruins was near impossible due to the swarms of undead monsters. Undead had come from underground almost drawn to the outside. Many adventurers would set up camp on the outskirts and attempt venturing inside to find treasures but never return. It was not uncommon to find empty tents or forgotten notes of farewell.

"So that big tower thing is in the center right? Think we could see the whole world from up there? Let's go there first!" Remey wanted to rush right in like usual but Su grabbed her shoulder.

"Haven't you heard how dangerous the ruins are? No one ever makes it to the center and back. The undead monsters are too thick. Making it to the inner walls is already considered a gold tier adventurer party challenge as it is." Su being the voice of reason was able to tame Remey's excitement for a few moments.

Gil and Remey looked at each other for a few minutes then smiled devilishly "then we can't leave until one of us touches that outer wall!" The two said in unison.

"You know I'd almost be convinced you two had telepathy systems." Walker gave them a strange look. If they were able to get as far as the inner walls of the ancient ruins and bring back evidence of a monster from there would they be promoted right to gold tier party?

"I don't think we should head in today, it's better to have a full day to use." Su was logical as always. She was right it would be better to scout and maybe attract a single enemy out to test things on for a full exploration the next morning.

"Gil, do you want to scout and lure a skeleton or zombie out here. I'm going to try and learn some holy light magic. If I can pull that off maybe we can be faster tomorrow." Walker knew sending Gil would be safe due to his soft footsteps.

Gil headed off while Remey and Su set up a small camp. Midnight seemed distracted and kept sniffing the air almost looking for food.

'Daily quest: the jack of all trades system

Your party is in need of a light magic user to make their current objective safer. As the all around magic user, it's your duty to step up. 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Requirements:

Learn one light magic skill.

Rewards:

+1matk stat '

"What! I can get stat points from heroic daily quests!?" Walker's outburst was ignored as Remey, Su, and midnight had all also frozen while staring at their systems.

"Leader! If I do this daily quest I can get a poison resistance passive skill!" Su rushed over to Walker not able to control herself. " I just need to test a zombies hits against my shield ten times!" Walker was incredibly surprised but turning his head to Remey he knew more was to come.

"I need to incapacitate a zombie by breaking its arms and legs without damaging its head. I'll get a piercing passive skill." Remey saw Su and her excitement so she tried looking indifferent.

The only one they couldn't understand was midnight who was hopping in the air as high as she could. For a moment the three were stuck staring at her in confusion. However they didn't get much time to relax as Gil ran up to them. "Two zombies one skeleton with a broken sword. Incoming about two minutes behind me. I need to dodge them so just distract the skeleton and one zombie for a few minutes I'll tell you more later." Gil was panting hard but a strong look of determination resided in his eyes.

"You've got it! Su you will take one zombie, Remey after Su blocks it and give you the signal start going after its limbs. You'll need to calculate and be precise. Midnight let Gil dodge the other zombie then help him do what you need to do. I'll be praying for light magic and trying to take down the skeleton." Walker's staff appeared in his hand

"Oh holy lord bless me with the gift of light" Walker began praying.

Religion may not have been a major driving force in the world however many did believe in something. Some believed in the power of monsters and others in specific elements. When humans referred to the holy lord they meant a god they worshipped often who controlled light or as they called it often holy magic.

"Skills have been taken from the holy priestess system, the holy lord system, and the master of seven flames system. Please choose one skill.

Turn undead

Holy smite

Evil consuming flame'

Three skills? The system wants me to choose one? Do all of these serve my situation? I can't even see what they do. Walker was being consumed by his thoughts but the clattering of bones forced him in to a fighting stance. 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎

"Ugh fine evil consuming flame sounds like the more versatile skill, I choose that!"

"The user has chosen evil consuming flame from the master of seven flames system.

Evil consuming flames- 3 mana cost

A ball of White flames blessed by light pursue a single target. Once hit the flame feeds off darkness within consuming undead creatures. If any other enemies touch the flames while they burn they will also become affected. The flames are purifying. '

Walker couldn't even look at the system notification. He saw Su and Remey moving to pull a zombie away. Gil had already begun his dodging. He looked as if he was dancing around the zombie's slow swings. Every movement Gil made always left him a hair of space from the rotting flesh encompassing the zombies. The skeleton was headed right for Walker. Just as planned but walker was still not happy to see yellowish grey bones pursuing him. Something that was once human still clung to life and now wished to kill him.

The hollow eyes seemed to stare in to Walker's soul as it opened its mouth making clattering noises. The skeleton raised a jagged broken sword. Walker jumped back narrowly avoiding the slash.

Before walker could start his spell Midnight pounced on to the skeleton crushing its skull. Looking over to where Gil was he saw him still dodging the zombie. "Gil tell me when you're done I'll help you!" Walker wasn't sure why midnight didn't help Gil but wasn't able to think on it.

Looking over to Su and Remey walker saw Su blocking a broken armed zombie's helpless attacks. Remey was attempting to get a good angle to hit a leg but it was a tough situation.

"Walker now!" Gil had just spun around the zombie leaving its front open to an attack.

"Evil consuming flames!" It was a longer attack to shout but the effect was amazing. A white ball of fire immediately sprang from walkers staff. The zombie had no chance to move out of the way. The fireball encompasses the zombie's front and began traveling to its limbs. This fire was ravenous! Gil and walker watched in awe as the zombie was failing to ashes in front of them.

"That's some spell you've got there!" Gil was the first to come back to reality. Walker smiled at this new skill.

Looking at Remey and Su the two saw the sad remains of a zombie helplessly squirming on the ground as Su used her shield to end the fight.

The two walked over a bit out of breath with a triumphant look on their faces.

'Zombie defeated 6exp multiplied to 60exp'

'Skeleton defeated 5exp multiplied to 50exp'

'Zombie defeated 6exp multiplied to 60exp'

The system was proving yet again how great the title was.

Noticing Remey giving a strange look walker turned around to see midnight crushing the skeletons bones in her teeth. "Midnight you know we have other monsters stored you don't need to eat that!" Walker was worried it would make her sick they were just bones!

However, as he started towards her to stop her Walker noticed a strange grayish white aura on her scales around her back. This caused walker to stop, this was like when she ate the darkness crystal. Was this somehow improving her scales? Why only on her back?

There were too many questions that were unanswered and walker reminded himself to find a book on specific species of dragons as soon as they returned from the test.

Once midnight had finished crunching on the bones she stood up and walked towards everyone else. With an irritated shake, Walker noticed she had some loose scales on her back. "Midnight! You're shedding your scales! You're starting to grow your adult scales!" Walker immediately remembered this from the book he had read smiling widely. This was an important part of her life cycle. After her new scales grew it they would grow with her. It also meant she would soon show her wings! Maybe they would hint at what kind of dragon her father was. Walker was still skeptical of why she ate the bones but this new development overshadowed it.

"Really! Does that mean she'll be crushing enemies from the sky!" Remey had grand visions of midnight swooping down and crushing skeletons before they could act.

"I would believe her wings would need time to develop. We should make sure we save skeletons' bones for her. Maybe they hold the right nutrients. My mother always told me my body is strong because I drank a lot of milk as a child." Su used her logic skills trying to decipher the reasoning and to also ground Remey's imagination. 𝒃𝙚𝒅𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢

"Hmm, this may have been a blessing in disguise that we chose this place to travel to. Not only will we level up but midnight is also finding nutritious foods. Well not that I'd call bones food." Walker laughed at his little joke.

" not to rain on everyone's parade but does anyone want to explain how my daily quest just gave me an agility point for dodging an undead enemy's attacks at the last minute fifteen times?" Gil was still amazed and skeptical of this daily quest. He'd heard only master systems could reward stat points for quests.

"Wait you got an agility point? I only got a passive skill. Pfft whatever I'll just have to hit you harder." Remey had a devilish grin " my hits ignore two defense stat points now." Remey cracked her knuckles for added effect.

"Hmm add on Su's quest to take hits and gain poison resistance and my magic attacks to gain a magic attack stat point." Walker was connecting the dots. "It seems the system's daily quests have us actions to help train us against these enemies. The hero title has really changed and even pushes us to grow. I would be willing to bet Midnight's quest was to beat that skeleton and eat the bones. I mean why else would she ignore what I said and immediately attack it?"

After Walker connected these dots faces or realization appeared on everyone. "I feel like we are cheating. The systems are basically pushing us in the right direction every time." Gil felt they would be invincible after not too long.

"You can't rely on it. That was just a test that you scouted out. If it was a huge swarm we would have been overwhelmed the way we all fought alone." Su saw the arrogance spawn in Gil's eyes and quickly brought him down to the earth again.

"Su is right, we had intended to test some things out and that's exactly what the system quests helped us with. Now we need to utilize what we just learned. Think of it this way, if Su has poison resistance doesn't that lead you to believe the zombies rotting flesh could poison us?" Walker's words began opening their eyes. " Gil your quest revolves around dodging so there may be traps of close encounters a scout needs to avoid. Remey you gained some piercing power passive is it not a long shot to say we may face some tough defense based opponents? What about my magic? Does that mean my new spell needed more strength to defeat what we will encounter? Even Midnight's growth shows us that she needed to get stronger before we went forward."

The weight of Walker's deductions fell on everyone. This the planning had truly begun. This young inexperienced party had just taken its first step in to the realm of true adventurers. So far they had a lot of luck but properly collecting Information and using it critically was a skill often learned over time. Veteran adventurers of weaker tiers often outlived those who Shot up the rankings early due to this exact reason.

After an hour or so of deliberation, the party had caught up to an adequate understanding of what dangers they may face entering the ruins.

"We should set out base camp and prepare for tomorrow. We'll be heading in to the real ruins right?" Gil chimed in after they'd all reached understanding.

"Sounds like a plan to me" Walker got up. He's pulled out the egg while they rested and it glowing softly. Walker could feel a warmth through his connection with it. "Hey midnight can you guard your sibling while we set up?" Midnight was delighted to be given such a job and quickly curled her self around the egg while still allowing it to bathe in the light.

The remainder of the day passed quickly and soon they were all left in the quiet of the night. Walker had stored the egg away after they had all eaten. This would be their last real test before starting their plans to gain massive amounts of exp.

Walker had taken the first night's watch and was trying to be as vigilant as possible. Now that things were silent through their little camp he noticed distant moans or sudden clattering sounds. These sounds would echo off the ancient stone buildings and rubble. One thing was sure, he would not rest peacefully thinking of the grotesque undead in the dark.

Soon walker had switched with Gil and later Gil with Su and so forth. When morning came walker made sure to be the first awake so the egg could see the first light of the day. He could feel the warmth of the sun washing away the terrifying sounds of the night. It was time to start their test for real!

Once everyone had risen they ate light so they could stay focused. The camp was easily broken down. The seat before when Gil had gone to scout and lure back some enemies he'd glimpsed a town square. The plan was to lure as many undead as possible there and release Walker's evil consuming flames. Then after those wore off everyone would finish off the remaining undead in the area and start again.

They would divide in to pairs leaving Su in the square. Her job would be to taunt the ones the others lured there. Su would then move in circles using some crumbled buildings to ensure the distance between her and their man made swarm.

Walker pulled his staff from his inventory, "let's go to that square and start luring in our prey." His serious aura radiated to the others. They were ready!

"Gil grab those five zombies over there! Meet us in the square when you can. Midnight back him up in case things get too close!" Halfway to their location they'd spotted five zombies following a stray cat and decided these would be the first lured over.

Once Gil had run over the zombies focused on him, the cat glanced back and almost seemed thankful for its pursuit to end.

Meanwhile, Walker, Remey, and Su made their way to the square as fast as possible. They took note of some collapsed arches that would slow the undead as they followed Su. "We'll be leaving now, we'll be back make sure you yell for us if anything happens." Walker and Remey took off in the opposite direction they had come.

Remey and walker ran down another overgrown road. The two noticed a caved In Home larger than the others and decided to head towards it. As they approached three skeletons were idling nearby. Two had damaged axes the other had nothing. Remey ran towards them leaving a wide area between them.

The two skeletons raised their skulls and teeth clattered. With her key movements, they began following after Remey. Walker followed slightly behind the group eyes watching the surroundings. He felt there would be more around a bigger area like this.

Walker glanced down an alley way and noticed that there were doors boarded up on the sides. This was the outer area of the ruins it would make sense that previous adventurers would have boarded off places that had access to the underground. Dangerous ideas entered Walker's mind.

"Remey you go ahead I have an idea!" Walker made his way to the alley way and used his staff end to pry the boards from the door. He could hear scratching from the Inside and prepared himself to run out as soon as the door was free to open.

The board fell to the ground and Walker felt the door pushing back towards him. He quickly jumped back and ran to the opening of the alleyway. He didn't know how long this place was sealed but it was long enough for many undead to become trapped as they tried to escape the underground. Seeing them begin to follow him walker lured them towards the square he wasn't able to count how many were behind him but there were over twenty in view.

Walker quickly used his party chat function "I found a bunch trapped behind a boarded up door I'm not sure how many but I'm coming to the square. We need to get them there and prepare to wipe them out!" After notifying the other members he continued to let the zombies get close then ran forward away from them. He repeated this over and over for almost half an hour. These zombies were just so damn slow.

Over the groans and sliding of feet, Walker could swear he heard a loud thump here and there. But over the vibrations of the zombies following him, he thought it may just be nerves.

Once he approached the square he was impressed to see 13 skeletons with various or no broken weapons following Su. Behind them were 9 zombies some of which didn't have arms or broken limbs. It seemed Remey was trying to mitigate their attack ability so Su could easily keep them contained. Gil and midnight were waiting on top of a roof of a nearby building that seemed stable. It was a perfect vantage point of him to use his arrows and also for the party to meet up and take potions. 𝙗𝒆𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙣𝙚𝒕

Remey had appeared next to Su pointing towards Walker. This was her signal to go meet up with Gil and midnight on the roof. Walker proceeded to run faster still allowing the zombies to flow in to the square while he caught up and found Su and Remey climbing a rusty ladder.

Upon getting to the roof himself walker was able to see the square now almost full of rotting zombies and grey bones skeletons. They were slowly approaching the building the party stood on. Walker had unleashed much more than just twenty zombies. They seemed to filter in to the square without end. He was not beginning to believe he had made the wrong choice in opening that door.

"Here we'll all drink half a potion that's twelve hours we have to maximize our hunting. We may take longer than that to deal with all of them. We'll need a few days to rest after this so don't worry about going all out but let's be smart about it." Walker had accepted that they would need time to recover from this battle, but the rewards will be well worth the soreness of a few days.

Pulling the potions from inventory they all drank half a potion, Su had helped midnight with this. Leaving just one growth potion remaining. Walker thought this would be held on until midnight needed it to get her heroic leveling function. That seemed the best use, however there was not any time to dwell on it now. Ignoring the system message saying they had consumed the growth potion they continued.

"Su can you taunt from up here? We need them to group up for the first hit." Walker was ready to use his spell but if the undead were to spread out it was pointless.

Stepping to the edge of the roof Su took a deep breath. "Get your asses over here you rotting pieces of garbage!" She banged in her shield after letting out the uncharacteristic shout which still stunned the party. They did understand she needed to yell insults to properly activate her taunting skill but it was too shocking.

Su's body gave off an aura and the undead seemed to all focus on her. The echoes of her voice seemed to still reverberate through the outer area of the ruins. The barren walls and broken buildings allowed sounds to travel much farther.

Walker realized that having Su shout a taunt skill so loud was not the best move. The echos carried the skill much father than intended.

"We need to move fast that skill traveled more than I expected. Be ready for a longer fight!" Walker gave his warning and watched the undead begin to push forward closer to each other. "Wait...waiiitttt...EVIL CONSUMING FLAME!" Walker saw the perfect moment and released a white fireball to the middle of the swarm.

The flame seemed small at first just a white dot among the rotting undead. But as the seconds passed the flames spread. Soon the party was witness to a bright white blaze consuming the whole square. However, the flame didn't dare spread to the stone buildings or burn the over grown plants. This was a testament to the light magic element. This spell only consumed evil and the thoughtless undead that only wished to kill were evil.

Witnessing this walker felt enlightened. This was a lesson of what magic would affect other elemental magic. What could harm and what could help.

'The user has reached partial enlightenment in the world's elemental magic. The skill elemental fusion Has been taken from the world bringers system.

Elemental fusion- ?

The ways of the world are mysterious, not many achieve an understanding of the systems in which existence flow. Using the knowledge gained through this understanding elemental magic can be fused in to stronger attacks'

Walker almost became enthralled by this system message but before he could start thinking he noticed something. The white flames were dying down in the square. A small line of flame traveled down the streets Walker had come from.

But what truly brought them the entire party to halt was not the white flames, not the countless system notifications, but the creature stomping through the ashes towards them. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏｖｅ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

Walker used his skill to discern its identity,

'Undead golem

Created through long term rot. Many undead forced in to one place over many years will eventually conform in to one body as their bodies break down.'

This undead golem looked slow but it was tough. Every time it touched the white flames a layer of rotting skin would burn to ashes only to reveal the golem to still be walker forwards.

This golem was terrifying. The legs and arms were like tree trunks. Its body was made of multiple fused rib cages. The head was sunken in to the body, barely even noticeable. The hands had melted together in to honey rotting cudgels. One hit could end all of their lives.

The flames had begun to die down revealing bones, partially burned zombie arms or legs, and ashes plenty of ashes. If the wind had decided to blow the whole area would disappear in to a grey haze.

The ever approaching thuds of the golems steps rang in Walker's ears. "We may have messed up a bit here." Walker had realized this fight would be much tougher than he had expected. "Alright here's the plan. Su be ready to block at a second notice. Gil when we back off you shoot every chance you get. Remey time your attacks for when Gils' arrows hit so it's distracted. Midnight stay away from its feet they could crush you. I'll buff everyone and try to heal and attack when possible."

Walker had devised a roll for everyone as quick as possible. Looking around he could see a few zombies or skeletons still moving some lost arms others couldn't even properly move.

Midnight had already jumped from the roof and begun finishing off the injured undead. Gil was letting fly arrow after arrow clearing an area for the others to fight.

"Multi buff!" Walker buffed everyone up. The undead golem had arrived in the square. It had definitely lost some mass from the remaining flames it carelessly stepped on. However, the aura of dread around it was strong.

The golem noticed Su who had just gotten in to position and began to move. Remey was to the side unnoticed.

An arrow flew and hit the golem in its center. The golem barely flinched at the damage. Remey circled around its back and released a punch. The golem barely registered the hit. It didn't even take its focus from Su.

"Su it's still affected by your taunt keep it at a distance. We will wear it down." Walker

Midnight had finished attacking the injured undead and came to the right side of the golem. She unleashed her claws rending a piece of the golems tough skin off. Noticing the golem didn't even react Walker could feel the anger in Midnight. She did not like being ignored. Midnight let herself go In to a small frenzy cleaving flesh from bones on the golem.

After six swipes of her claws midnight had made significant cuts to the golems side and back showing the underlying muscles and bones fused together. Midnight had become a bit short of breath from her attacks.

"Midnight move back let me at em!" Remey jumped forward throwing punches at the same areas midnight already damaged, the sounds of bones cracking were disgusting.

The golem finally took its notice from Su and began to turn. But as it raised its arm to swing at Remey three arrows in quick succession pierced its shoulder. The golem dropped its arm and turned towards the roof Gil was still standing on.

The golem was moving a bit farther now the sounds it made echoing through the buildings. Each step cracked the old stones on the square. Su had made her way near Walker with an idea. " leader use your flames on the cuts midnight and Remey made, you may get under its defenses." Her plan was solid. Walker lacked piercing power but Remey and midnight didn't so he could use their efforts to do real damage.

Su and walker separated "get over here you fat brute!" Su used a taunt to draw its attention. The golem had begun to collect arrows on its outside like porcupine needles. Gil refused to stop firing.

Walker approached the golems back seeing the deepened cut. He slammed his staff in to it as deep as he could. "Evil consuming flames!" White fire burst from the injury. Walker retreated as the golem came to a halt yet again.

Soon a disturbing scene of movement under the golems skin was seen. It was as if something was pushing out for an opening. Smoke billowed from the wounds it had received. The flames began to penetrate its skin parts falling off here and there. The smoke was room much to see through as the golem was consumed.

The sounds of rotten flesh hitting the grounds sickened the party but they knew this wasn't over yet. There's hadn't been a system notification.

The smoke began to clear. Ashes were falling around the golem. It had lost most of its mass. No tough skin remained. There was mostly bone and muscle. Small bits of skin burned in the ground. It's head had become much more visible. It was a grotesque half skeletal half rotten skull. A small bit of red resided within its eyes.

The now smaller golem stepped forward without any thuds or stones cracking. It had lost most of its weight and strength. Its speed had increased however, it flung its arms out towards Su. "Guard!" Su prepared to take the hit.

Shiiinngfff

A metal vibrating sound was made as she had blocked the hit. The sounds of the golems bones breaking in its mess of a hand. The golem had been pushed back unsteady. This allowed Remey and midnight to jump forward landing their blows to both sides simultaneously.

Midnight let out a small roar as she tore off one of its arms. Remey's hit was heavy, the sound of multiple bones breaking caused the golem to stumble dramatically. This allowed Su to jump forward having recovered from her defense. "Shield bash!" Su slammed her shield in to the golem, it fell to its back.

"This is our chance! Everyone let's finish this!" Walker's war cry sparked a fire in their eyes. They may not have finished it after the first strategy but this second round the golem was weak and they were about to come out on top.

Midnight and Remey targeted its body. Remey jumped and smashed her fists down breaking its remaining arm. Midnight tore out bones from its very core. Gil targeted its head firing arrows in to it with precision and speed. Walker stepped forward. "Evil consuming flame!" The white fireball hit the golem which was still stunned in its back. This time the flames didn't have a chance to fall from it. They fervently consumed the golem leaving ashes and smoking bones behind.

'Undead golem defeated.

100exp gained multiplied to 200exp multiplied to 2000exp'

The party collectively breathed a sigh of relief. " whoooooooooohoooooo" Gil let out a shout of victory before jumping down from the roof.

They were all sweating from the exertion and heat of the previous flames. " I think we've earned an hour to rest." Remey fell to her butt with an exasperated sigh.

"Agreed" Walker knew they wouldn't be able to do this indefinitely so they would have to rest between. "We also need to pick up some of the broken weapons, bones, and other things they may have had on them. The flame only burned the undead not their items." Walker didn't want to do this immediately but knew the faster they collected these things the better. Storing them away for proof and various other reasons was a smart move.

"I really would hate to run in to another one of those things" Su spoke for everyone. The undead golem was an annoyingly tough opponent. Walker made a note not to open anymore sealed doors, the danger was too great.

"So how many undead did we actually get?" Gil asked the question they were wondering about.

Walker glanced at his system. "Hold on to your seat cause this might knock you on the ground...thirty six skeletons, twenty four zombies, and one undead golem..." Walker knew this was insane all at once but he didn't realize just how insane it was.

...

Clara burst through the guild masters' doors. "You need to look at this now! Can a system be wrong!? This can't be right nothing I'm seeing can be right!" She was in a panicked state which truly threw Ibis off who was used to the professional Clara.

"I mean I can see their progress as their manager so I can see where they are and what's happening. But the system just sent a crazy amount of notifications on the party's actions. It's just not possible." Clara used her system to send a string of notifications to ibis. As she was an employee and him the guild master they could share system information.

Ibis was intrigued at first seeing the list of skeletons and zombies but realized the list wasn't getting smaller. There were too many that were killed all at once. The most shocking though? An undead golem at the very end. "How could they kill all of these at once! An undead golem is a challenge of a late bronze early silver tier adventurer party!"

"That's what I'm saying they somehow did all this at once it's insane! They are taking a test so I knew they would try hard but this is too much." Clara had fallen speechless as she sat there. "I don't know what tier they will be awarded but I know it will cause waves in the guild."

"We'll have to heavily place these acts on their title. It's the only way to keep unrest from skyrocketing. I need you to start mentioning to the others about the hero party omnipotent. This is an order spread this rumor of their title as much as possible before they return." Ibis could see no other way than to make it seem that this huge jump was only due to the title they received. If someone tried to replicate whatever they were doing in the ruins many may die.

Unknown to ibis and Clara they were due for another shock and sooner than they expected.

... 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Alright we'll that's everything we could find laying around" Remey wiped her brow and smiled at the pile of bones, ancient coins, broken armor, and weapons. Other various things as well but walker would store them all and let his inventory organize them.

"Then I guess it's time to gather more for round two." Walker smiled they still had a lot of hunting to do.

"Again! It's happening again!" Clara was about to exit the office when a slew of notifications showed up, this was the third time.

Ibis and Clara had taken to sitting in wait for developments. The second time twenty three zombies and seven skeletons were defeated. This was still too many all at once for a party of their tier.

Even more shocking was two hours later it was now happening again. "Thirty three zombies and twenty seven skeletons. What are they doing putting them all in a hole and blowing it up?" Clara felt defeated. She couldn't think of any logical reason or practice that would cause these sudden jumps.

"I'm glad we started writing this down, we are witnessing a record." Ibis had seen much in his life but this was the most monsters he had ever seen defeated by a party of this tier. If this was a gold tier entering the area for two months it would make sense.

"It's been almost ten full hours and these five have done something no one would have expected. I'm not sure even a seer would have seen this." Clara had let loose so many sighs during the past few hours since this had all started. " we'll need to prepare to receive whatever they bring back. I assume we will have to process a large amount." Clara looked at ibis knowing that their work hadn't even started yet.

"Spatial magic" these two words brought a whole other round of shock to the guild master. The party would most likely sell or have the guild sell the items and monster parts they acquired. This meant that they would need plenty of manpower to do it efficiently. This basically meant they needed to be prepared the same as when a raid party of over a hundred would return. Ibis shook his head and started pulling out paperwork.

...

Their potion was almost up but between their weak muscles and sweaty clothing, the party was done. They couldn't possibly muster any more energy to try and hunt last minute undead. The square was left full of ashes. If an unknowing person happened upon this sight they would believe that a massive bonfire had taken place.

During their first break, Walker had decided to leave the egg in the sun on the roof with Gil who could easily guard it while firing. This decision had proved to be the right one as Walker could feel additional warmth in the egg. Walker had decided to carry it on their walk back to bond a bit more and allow it the last of the day's light.

"I want to sssllleeeepppp" Remey groaned as she forced herself to stand yet again. She had pushed herself to collect as much as fast as possible this last round so she could rest longer.

"I second that, I would also like to eat and bathe." Su had begun struggling to hold her shield after the last round. She was not used to running around holding her shield and wearing her armor for hours while the others lured over the undead.

"Yup let's go back, if I have to draw my bow again my arm may fly with the arrow." Gil had realized just how important it was to train both arms to properly fire his bow. In the final round, he had begun using his non dominant hand to fire and realized his aim suffered. This was an important realization for him.

"Honestly I'm very happy we didn't see another of those undead golems. I can't believe I messed that up so bad. I'll be much more careful as we go the rest of this journey." Walker had wanted to apologize to everyone for a while but didn't want to throw off their momentum.

" don't beat yourself up, if I'd noticed a closed door I'd want to check it out too. We're literally exploring ruins it's part of the deal." Gil didn't hold any ill will. Not that any of them had the energy.

Once they had returned to their camping spot they'd made a warm fire. The night passed quickly however waking each other up for the night watch was definitely a challenge. Strangely the distant clattering of bones or zombie moans were rare after their hunting.

Upon morning walker noticed this to be the first time Remey slept in. She must have run herself a bit too hard yesterday. She was luring more than any of us and as the attacker moves much more. Walker was thinking an agility based item may help Remey with this problem in the future.

"I know we are supposed to rest but I think I'll practice firing my bow with my left hand today. I really wasn't happy with it yesterday." The thought of missing his target had haunted Gils dreams.

"That's a good idea, i think I'll follow your lead and work on some endurance wearing my armor and moving some rocks." Su also had some things she didn't feel like while they battled the largest being the fact that in the end holding her shield was hard. This was not acceptable to a defender whose shield could save a life.

Walker was thinking of what he should work on today " I should probably look in to all the items we picked up yesterday. We need to start planning on what to keep and what to try to sell." This was his job as party leader and could not slack off since the others were determined to improve.

Walker pulled up his inventory in his system and felt the pressure. "We really did pick up everything huh?" He looked to Gil and Su showed that they had many additional items for him to inspect. " I might as well jump in to it" with that walker had begun.

Seeing Gil and Su head off on their own to train walker realized just how excited they were to be making progress. Each one of them had become much more driven than when they started this journey. In the short time they'd been out they managed to adopt a mental attitude only high tier hunters had. This perseverance and way of thinking was beyond their years.

Walker wondered if this was also due to the hero title but decided it most likely was just something they were picking up due to the fast paced lifestyle. Since Remey and midnight were still asleep Walker say by the fire with the egg. He wouldn't walk off without someone awake being here to keep watch.

When pulling up his inventory he only looked at the new items:

Undead bone pieces- 142

Undead skull -8 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃ𝚘𝚖

Rotten leather armor- 18 sets

Rusty heavy armor- 7 sets

Broken sword-38

Broken spear- 21

Aged magic staff- 4

Ancient gold coins- 402

Enchanted boots-1

Ancient talisman-1

Rusty axe-8

Zombie flesh- 89

Undead ashes- 306

Undead golem core-1

Ancient religious amulet-22

Damaged books-3

Pristine butter knife-1

Walker looked at the list holding his breath, this was a lot. He knew he could ignore the rotten leather and rusty items. The bones and zombie flesh could be sold mostly for materials in weapons. However, there were a few things that stood out over the others. Walker pulled them out to use his skill on them one by one.

' undead golem core.

A bloody orb that is formed under the pressure of many rotting bodies taken from an undead golem. This is an amazing item for crafting if the user has undead specialized skills.'

Hmm, this should be valuable to the right person. Walker didn't plan on following the route of a necromancer. But knowing they found a useful material he'd keep it in the back of his mind.

' enchanted boots

+1 agi, +1def

Made by an enchanter to withstand the test of time. These boots have an added bonus to prevent slipping.'

Walker saw this and was a bit surprised. He wondered if there were many enchanters in the ancient ruins before they'd fallen. These boots may not look amazing but some stat boosts and the fact that the enchantments kept them from wearing away was a nice boon. "I'll have to ask who wants to wear them after we wash them." Walker started mumbling to himself. The boots definitely needed a wash as they smelled like zombies.

' pristine butter knife

The first creation of the master blacksmith Aaron. This may seem small but was blessed never to rust. Part of a dining set for two.'

"Oh!" Walker let out a surprised sound. It may only be a butter knife but seeing it was crafted by a master blacksmith really explained why it hadn't rusted or dulled. Walker giggled to himself wondering if they would somehow find the whole dining set for two of silver wear while they hunted zombies.

'Undead skull

Used for unique crafting formulas. It is rare that an undead monster is defeated leaving an undamaged skull behind. Some necromancers have been known to use them to house magical orbs.'

Ah, another item like the undead golem core. Unique to a specific type of system or magic. Walker was slightly unhappy seeing this but continued in.

' ancient religions amulet.

The meaning behind these twisted rings have been lost. An ancient civilization used these to identify those following a certain faith.'

Walker found this to be disappointing as well. These amulets were hung in a thin chain. The amulet itself was twisted rings in the form of a sideways eight. Walker had hoped he would gain insight to the religion this ruins' inhabitants used to follow. He would need to keep an eye out for this symbol. The party may be able to find a temple with intact scriptures. They would be worthy a great deal to scholars who researches the history of the ruins.

'Ancient talisman

This talisman has been Inscribed with a formation to unlock a seal. This can only be used with the specific seal it was made for.'

This may have been the most interesting of all. The paper was dingy from age but faint red lines in strange patterns completely covered it.

Walker thought that exploring to find a sealed door might be a good idea. If the door was sealed it may be a treasure vault or room full of ancient knowledge. The fact that it was sealed means it was important. If it was just a key or magic lock it could have been an average door for someone's home.

Before he could delve in to it any farther walker could hear Remey getting up and subsequently midnight stretching as well.

Remey had a bad case of bed head but looked well rested. Midnight however had lost more scales giving way to more solid looking adult scales. Her back looked slightly swollen making Walker worry before he remembered this was a natural part of a dragon's growth as the wings will grow under the baby scales.

"Gil and Su ran off to train, I'm going through what we collected and I think we'll be going on a treasure hunt later." Walker's mischievous smile made Remey believe this treasure hunt would be well worth it.

Midnight came over sniffing the egg in front of Walker greeting her little sibling. Then proceeded to plop her head in Walkers' lap for attention.

"Once Su and Gil get back for lunch we can head out to look for our treasure. I have a hunch for where this talisman may have come from." Walker showed Remey the talisman which confused her since she had never seen one before. "This unlocks a sealed door it's not like a key or magic lock. If you seal something it's gotta be super important. So if we find the right door we can see what's been sealed away for who so owns how long!" At this Remey gave an excited smile.

Remey jumped in excitement and quickly grimaced "I AM SOOO SOORREEE" Remey was not happy after all the running the day before. Walker couldn't help but laugh and start to look for something to cook up for lunch.

Walker had made some sandwiches from dried meats and no stale bread for everyone. While they munched walker shared the news of the ancient talisman.

"Wait so you're telling me we might have the key to some treasure trove?" Gil was still skeptical having never heard of this kind of way to lock a door.

"Yes, and I have a feeling of where to go look." Walker was even thinking of where the talisman may have originated. Since the majority of the undead came from one place it made sense where it came from. "The door I opened released that golem and a bunch of undead, statistically that's where the talisman came from. Plus the other undead have been wandering around the area for who knows how long. We can take this gamble and maybe find something big." This was not a terrible idea. They had a lot of time to continue their hunting but if they discovered something historical there could boost their test results higher.

" We also may not return here again or in a very long time so if we don't take a chance at this we may forever miss out." Su wanted to take advantage of this treasure hunt. As a child, she had always dreamed of finding riches so she could buy the best medicine for her mother and help her father retire. Even with the hero title assisting in solving these problems she still had this desire.

"Well I want to do it, I think we'll at least find an Interesting souvenir to bring back." Remey made her decision since she was enticed by showing off the things she found to her siblings at the orphanage.

Midnight naturally was ignoring all of them devouring a leg of the jade locust the party had defeated some time ago.

The party laughed and chatted while they finished their lunch. They put out the fire and cleaned up their camp. It was time to go exploring!

Walker easily lead them past the square and to the alley way he had found the door. Due to their previous hunting, they didn't encounter a single undead in the immediate area.

Before entering Walker threw a rock inside to lure anything out that may still be there. " no response, I guess we head inside. Be ready we don't know what's inside." Walker fell behind Su who was holding her shield at the ready.

They crept inside step by step revealing a dingy room. There was rotten wood covering the stone floor. This must have been the old furniture crushed by the zombies. There seemed to be stairs heading to a basement and once upon a time stairs heading to a second floor. However, the second floor had collapsed in on itself without having the stone base like the first floor.

"This first part looks clear let's spread out and give a check quick, then we'll head to the basement. Watch those stairs over there some thing may be down there." Walker's quick order snapped everyone in to scouting mode.

Gil quickly found some ancient gold coins, while Remey found some rusted silver wear.

"Nothing too amazing unless you're collecting rust." Remey was building her hopes up too early for treasure.

"If you're that impatient we can head to the basement already." Walker teased Remey a bit but knew there really wasn't much more than a bad smell on the first floor.

Su lead the way once again as they followed down the stairs. Walker noticed some cracked steps and that the entrance was a bit broken. This was definitely where the undead golem had come from.

The basement was much larger. Water dripped from cracks in the walls adding to the mildew smell. The first floor was also damp but seemed to be so with a slimy black liquid. "Nasty! You said that thing was from zombies rotting close together right? Well we found its birth place." Gil was shaking its head. Out of all the ways monsters can be born this was one of the grossest he'd learned.

A scratching sound caught their attention from the corner. They all fell in to battle stances. There was a zombie stuck to the wall. Well what was left of one that is. It had rotted away leaving only a torso and head stuck to the mucky floor. Gil quickly dispatched it with an arrow. "Well I'm glad I've witnessed that zombie turn in to a pile of goop." Gil's sarcasm was boundless.

Su was investigating the other side of the wall "leader can you please use your skill to investigate these bottles?" Su had found a rusting metal rack with ten bottles on it. They were dusty and had faded labels however nothing written was left after years.

'Aged berry wine

This is a specialty wine produced once a year. The longer it is aged the higher quality it becomes. In some cases, a bottle can cause an army to become drunk. Age:489 years quality: top grade estimated price: 800G'

Walker read what his system gave him as an answer and they were all floored. A wine that could make an army dunk? "Wait did you just say eight hundred gold for a bottle!" Remey was stuck in the extravagant price.

"I knew this was something good. I heard that some wines when aged become much higher quality. This is the exact case." Su had remembered meeting a friend of her parents who had a wine tasting system. This person had spoken of the intricacy of wine however Su being young and never having any made his words gibberish at the time.

"Well this could be a really nice gift, or to celebrate our promotion if we pass the test." Walker was happy to find something so interesting. Who would have thought this aged wine would persevere hundreds of years.

Midnight let out a slight huff drawing everyone's attention. She had reached the end of the basement which seemed darker. Walker went to meet her finding the basement didn't end. Instead there were intricate stone carvings of angels and skeletons on the wall. A stone archway with an opening leading down even more stairs. Sadly Walker realized he couldn't read the symbols written in stone.

'Passive skill universal translation has been taken from the embassy system.

Universal translation- passive

Translate written and spoken language in to the tongue of the user. The user can not write any languages unless learned however will learn them faster. The user can understand any language spoken or written by bipedal intelligent species. This does not include animals and monsters.'

Walker smiled as the words in stone became clear to him.

"Lucky me I have a translation passive skill now." Walker was happy as can be, however the party was looking at him like he was crazy. "Guys I can read what this says now! We can see just how important any literature or ancient scripts we find will be!"

This realization hit Su making her excited as well "the value of their language is on its own a massive step in learning about their civilization. Leader what do those symbols say!?" She couldn't wait and wanted Walker to translate. They all became curious now.

Reading from the stone archway " Rest easy those who have left the path of life". Walker wasn't sure the exact meanings these words had. "So does this reference the dead?" The only thought walker had was those who left the path of life would be the dead.

"Hmm so is this like the church? They usually have mausoleum under the graveyards." Living in the orphanage Remey had gained knowledge of the church and burial rights.

"This seems bigger though, isn't it known that there are various underground caves and tunnel systems?" Gil remembered walker mentioning this to them as they had traveled.

"Catacombs" Su said this one word which they all knew to be true.

"That explains the amount of undead, the entire underground is catacombs! Why didn't we figure that out earlier. We totally dropped the ball on that." Walker laughed at his blindness.

After a moment he had calmed down, "so shall we head in?" With this everyone nodded ready to delve in to the catacombs.

The stairs and stone path was dust from years of sitting. The occasional scuff marks could be seen from the wandering undead. However it seemed that when walker had opened that door the majority of undead stuck in this area had vacated the underground area. This made their exploration easier.

Their steps echoed aver so slightly off the stone walls. Every once in a while they would pass indents in the wall. It appeared enough space for a body to lay. Some indents even had small pieces of bones remaining. It was surprising how the party was able to see down in the catacombs but walker had noticed small crystals embedded in the walls. He had seen things in the city before which would be connected by magic to filter in sunlight.

Su was taking the lead to block any undead enemies they may encounter but suddenly a clicking sound was heard.

Wooosh shikkk

An arrow shot out of a small hole in the wall grazing su's shoulder. "Ugh" Su felt the pain and quickly her eyes widened. "There's poison on the arrow! My system just said I resisted poison"

Walker was shocked they hadn't noticed any traps yet but Su had just triggered one. "That explains why you had received poison resistance. Since you lead the way you could run in to traps...I'm glad you had the skill if it was anyone else we would be running out of here immediately." The entire party was now on edge. The graze wasn't enough to truly harm Su but it was enough to wake them all up.

'Daily quest: party quest- long term chain quest.

Requirements:

Escape the catacombs

Optional- find the sealed door

Optional- learn the history of the ancient ruins

Optional: ?

Optional: ?

Rewards:

200exp

Optional- 300exp

Optional- 400exp

Optional:? ｂ𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.ｎｅｔ

Optional:?'

"Wait what's with this quest we can just turn around and leave." Remeys words made everyone's jaw drop. This was a jinx!

As if responding to her words the party heard a few more clicks from behind them. A rumble was felt in the walls a d ground. Soon the sounds of stones hitting the floor filled their ears. Walker immediately ran towards the entrance only to be stopped by the dust and the view of a blocked path.

Walker could see where a beam in the ceiling was holding up the stones. This had fallen as a result of the hidden mechanism Su activated. A two stage trap to poison and trap the intruder.

"We need to move forward. We can't make it back if we try to dig ourselves out it could collapse more." Walker's words echoed to his party and he soon walked to join them again. This was not part of his grand treasure hunt idea.

Gil stepped forward "look the quest had multiple parts, these look optional but if we need to escape here I think we will require some of these parts. It's all connected in some way. Why else would it be a chain quest?" Gil's idea was sound. This quest said optional but was most likely all connected.

"It's also long term so it's more than just daily. Who knows how long it could take us. I'm just glad we have a bit of food and water but the sooner we make it out the better. Unfortunately, now that we are down here we can't tell the time. We need to make sure we rest properly or else we could exhaust ourselves." Su and her logic was a welcome sound. She had a knack for saying the right things to calm one's mind.

"So we push forward, no point in sitting here for now." Remey knew staying still would t help the situation so instead pushed for them to move.

Midnight looked toward where they had come from unhappy to be moving downward. It would seem she didn't like the stagnant air in these catacombs very much.

The party moved slowly keeping an eye out. This careful travel was paying off because as they seemed to descend more they had noticed three spots of loose stones that were attached to a wire or hidden mechanisms. There were more traps awaiting them as they traveled but having a watchful eye was going to be a necessity the entire time they were in the catacombs.

Once their path had flattened out they noticed they had more space. They were coming to an opening of some sort. The closer they came the more they noticed some scratching sounds. Walker brought a finger to his mouth to be quiet. They weren't alone down here and whatever was ahead was going to hear them if they weren't careful.

Walker crept to take a peak that the room. It was a medium sized room there were stone tables against the two walls along with many indents that used to house bodies. However this was not the thing that drew the eye. There was masses of greenish threads all over one corner of the room. Creatures that appeared to be stitched together with this greenish thread. They had spider like bodies but the ghastly part was their bodies were stitched with rotting flesh. White bone like fangs protruded from their mouth. Walker had not seen this kind of creature before and used his skill.

'Corpse spider

A creature that preys on undead mainly zombies. Its body is extremely weak so it traps zombies to use as material to create its own armor. The house and use rotting fluids as poison and also as a main ingredient in their threads. Females can not produce thread and often used skeletons to create tougher armor nicknames as skeletal spiders even though they are the same species'

This was a tough position to be in. Walker could see an exit on the other side of the room however if they crossed the room they would step on threads alerting the corpse spiders. Walker could only spot three but noticed something moving under the mass of threads in the corner.

With a whisper "they are corpse spiders, I see three but I think there's another under the threads in the corner. We need to fight. They aren't undead they just use zombie flesh as armor. In theory, I can burn away their defense and then you guys kill them. They use poison though so we'll need to rely upon Su so stay behind her."

Su softly stepped to the front while Gil drew an arrow in advance. Midnight and Remey stood slightly behind Su to the sides. Walker readied his staff.

The second Su entered the room stepping in a thread the closest corpse spider turned and let out a blood curdling squeal. The other two turned and started to move towards the party. The mass of threads in the corner showed significant movement.

The spider that had alerted the others was the first to get close to them "evil consuming flame!" Walker sent a white flame at it which cause it to engulf and begun to flail around throwing thread outwards. However, this caused a great deal of fire to spread. Due to the threads being produced by the spiders using the rotting fluids of the flesh they cover their bodies in the whole room was soon caught in a white blaze.

Everyone was in a panic, the fire may not be burning them but they couldn't see and the heat was unbearable. Walker couldn't see Su in front of him but could hear the squealing of the spiders near him. An arrow flew past him and he realized Gil had nearly ran in to him. Walker grasped in his direction finding his bow and grabbing his hand. This calmed Gil enough to he didn't run away realizing it was a human hand.

The pair moved around finding a wall and leaning against it. The flames in the side of the room died down slightly causing them to see shadowed figures in the flames. The corpse spiders had become enraged as their rotting armor and nest had been burned. Gil released walkers hand " to the right!" He'd seen an angry spider rushing a taller shadow. Aiming his arrow he fired at the spider like shadow which produced another squeal.

The taller shadow noticed the direction of the arrow and the squeal and ran towards the wall. It was Remey! "I lost Su and Midnight I don't know which direction they went." She was breathing hard her eyes panicked.

"We need to stay away from that corner the flames are concentrated there that must be the nest. Let's move to the opposite side. Some flames are dying down." Walker saw that the blaze in one corner was strong but the farther away from it the flames had already started to fall to waist hight.

CLANGGG!

Vibrating metal sounds came from in front of them as they saw Su blocking a pale white spider. It looked soft and easily damaged except for its sharp white fangs which clashed with her shield.

"Gil shoot the spider, I'll get Su!" Walker rushed forward "Su!" He grabbed her arm pulling her back with all his strength. She almost resisted but she heard Walker's voice and allowed it. The spider missed her by a hair allowing Gil's arrow to catch it off guard. Without its stitched together armor the spider couldn't protect itself. The arrow shot through it completely.

The sounds of midnight growling and flesh being torn apart came from behind them. Remey jumped towards the noise only to find midnight has circled behind a spider and torn it apart.

Most of the flames on the floor had burned the threads to ash all that was left was the nest still covered in white flames but almost completely burned. However, remembering the movement within walker held ready.

A bony leg tore through the flames revealing a corpse spider clad in burning bones. "That's a skeletal spider it's tougher than the others!" Walker gave a warning shout and switched his staff for the scythe in this inventory. "Crescent moon!" Walker sliced at the spider the wave arching towards it. The spider moved too fast but not fast enough. Four legs were sheared off. The spider fell to the side allowing Remey to jump in.

"Defense break!" Remey unleashed a palm strikes happening the bones on the spider abdomen. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹．𝗻𝐞𝘁

Gil saw this opportunity and acted. "Remey back! " the second Remey was clear Gil release his arrow in the exact spot Remey had just broken. The spider flailed in agony before its remaining legs curled and it stopped moving.

'Three corpse spider defeated

21 exp gained multiples to 210exp

One skeletal spider defeated

10exp gained multiplied to 100exp'

With the system confirmation, Remey looked at Walker, "no more spiders ever again!" She was sure to have nightmares now that she'd seen the worst spider imaginable.

The party formed up just in case any other corpse spider remained alive or came after the commotion. However, after waiting for a long time the remaining flames died out leaving only silence. They finally were able to catch their breath and relax slightly.

"I didn't expect the flames to consume the thread as well, I know they're made using the fluids of rotting zombies but it was unexpected. If we run in to more we will have to stay farther from them." Walker knew they were lucky to survive this unharmed and the only reason was the low number of enemies. If they had encountered a large nest they certainly would have died. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Su had regained her breath and looked at walker "it's definitely dangerous fighting these spiders. Every time their fangs hit my shield I felt it ring through my body. Their bodies were weak without that armor but their attack was almost too much." She was pale having used a lot of energy blocking the spider blindly in the flames.

"We will rest here a while so don't worry too much. If you can't sit still take a look around, but don't push yourself." Walker's face showed worry but knew Su was wise enough to take time to breathe.

Seeing as Gil had made his way to the remnants of the nest midnight and walker went to examine as well. "You don't suppose those white round things are important do you?" Gils' question was mirrored by him pointing at a cluster of ten softball sized white orbs. They were completely smooth and perfectly round.

"All around appraisal!" Walker knew he didn't have to say every skill out loud but knew this served as an answer or proper communication of what he was doing.

'Corpse spider egg.

Skeletal spiders often give birth to ten eggs at a time. In their lifespan, they can produce one hundred young. The eggs take up to one year to develop before hatching. The young spiders will immediately burrow in to bits of flesh their parents have provided to create small armors. Once they have done so they will hunt small insects to assist their growth until they properly developed poison and thread.'

Walker was puzzled, these eggs were spared from the flame like the corpse spiders true bodies were. But since they would need zombie flesh to make armors did that mean they would die if they hatched? "These are corpse spider eggs. They were probably wrapped in zombie flesh until I burned it away."

Gil pulled out an arrow and stood holding it like a dagger "we should probably kill them. I'm not sure what they can do but if they hatch it won't be good for us." Gil began to stab downward.

"Wait wait, let's keep them. I can store them away so they won't hatch I also have the zombie flesh for when they hatch." Walker had an idea.

"No no no no no no no! You are not getting your own personal army of gross spiders as pets I don't care if they are the most powerful tamed beasts ever!" Remey overheard walker and Gil. She rushed over yelling at walker her face red but also showed hints of fear.

"Wait Remey listen I have an idea, we can't easily provide and keep all these spiders right?" Walker first talked Remey down. "But we got a coupon from that quest for the merchants' auction. If we take these eggs and the hard to sell zombie flesh wouldn't tamers pay plenty of gold? Not to mention these spiders can't be common to come across." Walker's idea was simple, sell one egg paired with some bones and some zombie flesh as a package. A tamer could purchase it from the auction and in turn gain a unique poison type tamed beast. This way they wouldn't kill a defenseless monster and they could get rid of bones and zombie flesh that they had too much of. They also could use their earnings to purchase something at the auction themselves.

Su had come over at the commotion Remey was making and studied the eggs carefully, "I agree I do not wish to be part of harming defenseless babies even if they are skin crawling monsters. Would you smash the abyssal serpent egg because you didn't like snakes?" Her questioned made Remey look down. She was moping because Su made a good point making her feel bad.

Crossing her arms she replied " fine store them away don't let them hatch! If I see one baby spider I'll beat you to a pulp!" She glared at walker making the point that he was not allowed to contract it very clear.

Walker took the time to store the eggs along with the remains of the four spiders. Walker noticed all the bones hadn't burned off of the skeletal spider and took a closer look. It seemed the bones had started to fuse with the spider itself. Walker wondered if this meant that these spiders could over time grow in to their armor and it wouldn't be effected by evil consuming flames.

The party knew that the longer they rested the longer they were trapped but they had no idea how much time was passing. They decided to rest until they had felt prepared. They rationed the food and water because they did it know how long it would take to find an exit. While they rested walker noticed that even though the light wasn't bright it did still nourish the abyssal serpent egg which he'd taken from his inventory to check up on. He was slowly becoming a doting father.

After an unknown amount of time Su had gained more color to her face so she had decided it was time to leave the room. The route they traveled was much wider than the previous hallway. They could all stand side by side in this one, it also had supporting arches cares in worn stone. Gil noticed that there were paths up ahead branching off.

"I'm going to scout the left path first. I'll be back in a few minutes." He quietly started sneaking down the smaller left hallway.

Gil snuck down the smaller hallways taking note of any differences in the floor in case of traps. These hallways didn't have any indents for bodies but did have spots for candles long since burned. He noticed some moth eaten tapestry once hung on the walls.

The hallways were not long and he came to a small room at the end. A stone altar was in the center covered in carved symbols. The walls were carvings of worship. Along with the heavens and flames underneath the ground. Upon the altar were some ancient gold coins and a book that was strangely in good condition. It appeared to be dusty but not rotten or overly damaged. Gil took note that the symbols in the alter may have had something to do with this.

He inspected the altar and the book finding a small metal thread underneath the book. Using an arrow he fixed the thread so it would not move. He'd lose an arrow but gain an unknown book that could hold many secrets.

After securing the thread he took the book and quickly retreated. In case the thread didn't hold. He reached the rest of the party in a moment "so I found you a book to read, it must be important if it had a trap on it right?" Gil was smug knowing he was to thank for something potentially important.

Walker took the book and dusted off the cover, "where was it?"

"It was on a stone altar covered in symbols and stuff. I figured it looked important right? Righhhhht?" Gil was waiting to know what it said so pushed Walker along.

"The title is; undying faith. If it was on an alter it may be religious. When we take a break I'll read in to it. Nice job" this might be some important insight they needed to get through the catacombs but stopping now would not be wise as they had just rested.

They moved forward and soon came to a small hallway this time on the right. Gil already knew what to do and began sneaking down the hallway.

Unlike the first hallways this one curved to the left. Gil found indents for bodies and a small fountain like statue. It was a man carved from stone holding a heart in one hand and a book in another. He could see spouts in his chest where water once flowed. Moving on he continued forward not finding anything and returning to the large hallway. Looking down he saw the party.

"Um it's a circle. I came right back out here." Seeing this they came to meet him. "Other than a creepy old fountain nothing back there just loops around. Freaking maze down here just to get us lost." Gil wasn't happy since he didn't find anything this time.

Much to the party's dismay, this process reappeared four more times as they moved forwards. There were hallways that would circle around leaving them back where they started. This was made almost as if on purpose to confuse someone. Or maybe to keep the undead down here.

"Stop" Gil said in a hushed voice. "Do you hear that?" The clattering of bones up ahead was faint but loud enough to make out.

"Skeletons" Walker recognized it instantly. "It doesn't sound like too many but we should be prepared"

The party crouched and moved quietly down the hallway. Soon three bony shapes in the shadows came in to sight. Two held larger rusty swords and one had a bow but no arrows. The bow was strange it didn't look old and rusty like the other weapons skeletons had. " there's something weird about that one with the bow, there are no arrows and the bow isn't old and worn looking." Walker whispered to them.

"I'll aim to take it out first, once I fire my arrow we rush them ok?" Gil figured if he took out the strange archer skeleton first it would be wise. Gil stood taller and draw his bow. He had a second arrow clenched between his teeth for the second shot.

The arrow freed itself from his bow. It was silent but on target. The skeleton holding the bow stumbled but didn't fall. Gil already had the second arrow drawn and following the first hit the skull of the skeleton. It still stood but was obviously dazed.

Su came out of her crouch rushing the skeletons. Remey and midnight were close behind. The two with melee weapons ran forward. The sounds of metal hitting metal were all they could hear as the two skeletons slammed their weapons on to Su's shield. However, Remey wasn't having any of it. She wound up her right fist and shattered the skull of the nearest skeleton.

The one holding the bow had recovered and had visible damage in its skull. Cracks webbed out from where the arrows were impaled. Gil let fly another arrow but the skeleton stepped back. It reached to draw its own bow leading them to witness something crazy. An arrow formed out of black smoke. This was magic! "Gil dodge!" Walker shouted as Gil wasn't moving yet. The skeleton released its dark arrow narrowly missing Gil but piercing deep in to the wall behind him. Beads of sweat came off Gil's brow. Remey and Su had cornered the other skeleton knocking its weapon across the room. Midnight had used the time the skeleton with a bow was focused on Gil to sneak behind it. She jumped crushing the skull easily between her teeth. Walker made a mental note of how good she was getting at sneaking up on enemies. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭

A loud crack came as Su slammed her shield in to the last skeleton finishing the job.

'Two skeletons defeated

10 exp gained multiplied to 100exp

One skeletal archer defeated

9exp gained multiplied to 90exp'

Walker was puzzled, this was still a skeleton but it was specified as a skeletal archer. He knew skeletons could wield many weapons often which they held as they died. However, a skeletal archer meant the skeleton was a very powerful archer when they were alive. Walker decided to inspect the weapon left behind.

' magic soul bow

+2 matk, +2atk

A bow created through great hardship. The crafter feared the time a hunter would lack an arrow to protect themselves and used his soul to forge magic unto the bow itself. When mana is used as fuel the bow creates an arrow with the user's elemental affinity.'

"Hey Gil, you just got a new toy!" Walker knew this was perfect for Gil who wanted to keep his attack and magical attack stats the same. He desired the ability to use magic arrows and regular arrows. This bow was almost made for him.

"Yea? What's it do? That weird skeleton used magic didn't it?" Gils face slowly changed from confused to awe. "Wait you're not saying this bow made that happen are you!?" Gil was shaking waiting for confirmation.

"Exactly that you can use mana and it creates an arrow out of your elemental affinity. So this is perfect for you." Walker smiled and picked up the bow to hand to Gil.

Gil took the bow having a hard time believing it was real. "So that explains why that arrow was all dark and spooky. It was terrifying but makes sense a skeleton would have a dark element." As he said these words his voice curious at what his elemental affinity would be.

"We'll aim at the wall there and test it just don't hit an archway!" Walker Su and Remey were looking at him expectably sad Midnight had decided it was time to snack on some of the skeletal archer's bones and did not pay attention.

Gil lifted the bow, the second he sent his mana in to it green swirls seemed to appear out of nowhere. This green swirl of magic pulled the air towards his fingers as he pulled the string. Soon a green arrow with a top that rotated like a tornado appeared on the bow. Everyone but Gil was slack jawed. Gil however was feeling the wind as it was part of his body. He breathed out and released the arrow.

Their breaths were taken away, the arrow reached the wall in a blink of an eye. The rotation drilled a hole through the wall as if cleanly cut. The shocking part was there was no sound! A large breeze that took the air from them but no sound!

Gil let the bow fall to his side, he breathed deeply, "I won't be able to use that many times but, wow." He couldn't believe what he'd just done. This was something he'd only dreamed of, to fire a magical arrow.

"You literally just took our breath away jerk! Pfft guess you'll be all full of hot air now"Remey laughed at her jokes. Gil had definitely shown a wind elemental affinity and a powerful one at that. An archer needed to be attuned to the wind to truly know where their arrows would land but this was another level completely.

While they all gushed over Gil's new weapon not a single one noticed the water beginning to flow from the hole Gil's arrow had created.

"Hey umm guys where did this puddle come from" Remey had realized they were all standing in a growing puddle. Midnight had backed away from the water unwilling to touch it a slight growl in her throat.

"Leader midnight doesn't seem to like this water at all." Su was worried they were standing in this puddle and she didn't see anything wrong.

"I'll check it out let's see what my skill says" Walker used his all around appraisal skill immediately

'Rotting leach

Small undead creatures that live in toxic conditions. Often found in bodies of stagnant water filled with corpses. Once it infects a host it spreads poisons throughout the hosts body slowly feeding in its very life.'

"Everyone out of the puddle now! There are leeches in the water!" Walker jumped to the dry stones. Seeing this everyone else followed. Upon paying more attention they all saw small purple colored worm like things trying to swim in the water. Noticing one near her Remey stomped on it with her foot crushing it.

The flow of the water was Increasing and as such so was the puddle. "We need to move and get away from this stuff now." Walker made the call to move ahead faster. He knew that these leaches could be trouble in the long term. "We need to stay away from water, I'm not sure leaders' flames can kill them when they swim in the water." Su was definitely afraid of these things, they were slimy poisonous worms. Her mother had once tried a regular leech as a healing technique. Unfortunately, the healer that was there had spilled a jar full of leaches in the room and one had scrawled on to Su giving her an irrational fear. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮

Her face was absolute terror causing the others to hesitate. They rarely had seen Su lose her calm demeanor and give way to fear. "Then let's move we can push forward just stay alert." Worried about Su walker decided to push everyone forward away from this unexpected situation.

The flow of water was almost gushing now, there must be an extreme amount of water behind the wall.

Cccrrrraackkk!

The sound of the wall beginning to crack echoed through the catacombs. "Run!" Remey yelled and the party started sprinting forward. They passed many side hallways rushing to find a door to close behind them. It dealt like an eternity of running as they heard more and more cracking noises. They could see a small narrow stairway leading up at the end of the hall. Five skeletons were standing around near the walls.

"Ignore the skeletons we need to get up higher, just knock them away!" Walker's plan was to push the skeletons away and climb the stairs. If any followed Su would bash them with her shield. "Su you follow behind Remey front in case there's another enemy up top!."

They ran with all their might not worrying about alerting the skeletons. The skeletons turned and left the sides of the walls to come towards the party. The nearest was kicked back by Remey as she got to the stair well. "Mana blast!" Walker forced two away with his spell as Gil and midnight went up the stairs. The other skeletons were pushed back by Su as Walker and her began climbing.

The sound of a crumbling wall and gushing water was all they could hear, even the skeletons paused their movements. The water was coming.

They ran hopping two stairs at a time trying to get up. The water could be heard flowing up the stairs and no one knew how high it would go. A skeleton was on their heels but Su used their height advantage being higher on the stairs to crack its skull before running harder.

"Walker we've got a room up here." Gil's voice echoed down the stairs along with a grunt from Remey who seemed to be fighting.

As Walker saw the room he noticed Remey fighting a half rotted half skeleton zombie. It must be very old to have made it to this state. Before anyone even helped Remey had already crushed its head with a strong punch. "Pfft I can handle myself." Remey was out of breath but still had the energy to brag.

Su stepped in to the room backwards watching as the water slowed to only three steps from them. "It's safe to say that we can not return that way." The look of horror on her face was evident. A death by drowning and leaches was not anyone's preference.

Seeing that the water had stopped and there was no immediate danger the party collapsed to the ground. They could finally catch their breath and relax. "Ok so maybe having you test out your new bow was a bad idea." Walker looked at Gil who smiled sheepishly.

"Better to test it out and run like a fool then fail later" Su responded while stretching her legs. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠

"We passed a lot of hallways I hope we going the right way." Remey had seen many possible turns but stayed straight forward afraid to lose the others while running.

Finally looking around them walker noticed the room's round shape. The stairs they had come from let way to a domed ceiling. Three hallways branched from this all seeming to slope upward and to the left as if in a spiral.

While resting walker pulled the book Gil had found glancing through the pages not seeing much of interest. This was all scripture for an ancient religion. "This undying faith seems to worship a god that grants immortality. I don't see it named anywhere in this book though." Walker's forehead crunched and he looked harder trying to pry more information. "The rituals and such in here aren't necessarily evil but a lot of blood letting and animal sacrifices. This last section speaks of a way to fuse the souls with others to gain the blessing of the god. Naturally the blessing is immortality. What kind of people lived here to believe something so brutal?" Walker couldn't contain his curiosity, if these people truly fused their souls with one another how could a body contain them?

"So basically these people did some pretty gruesome things, no wonder this place is filled with undead" Remeys blunt comment brought the realization to them.

"What if it was because of the things they worshiped and did the city ended up like this? What if they tried to get immortality from their god and ended up creating all these undead and ruins?" Gil had just hit the nail on The head.

'Chain quest link has been completed

Optional: discover the history of the ancient ruins

Rewards:

400 exp multiples to 4000exp.'

"Ha! Yes I'm right." Gil jumped up in victory.

"So due to their worship and attempts to fuse their souls they created the undead. I wonder if we can find any specifics, I bet that spire in the center isn't just for show right? It's probably swamped with the undead for a reason too." Walker drew the connection. If any super important religious ritual would take place wouldn't it be at the most important looking place?

"Leader if that's the case should we venture there? Or try to avoid it? I'd hate to fight so many undead or even stronger ones but that seal could only be on something important right? Maybe it's a key back outside from the tower?" Su wondered if the deal was so immensely important to the ancient ruins but walker dashed her hopes.

"As far as I know no one has ever entered the spire but this talisman is most likely for another door. From the writings here if the tower was religious it was most likely open to those who lived here for worship." Walker based his hunch on how many religious buildings worked in their city along with the hope that they could find a treasure in a sealed door. He may have been slightly biased.

Looking up from his pensive state Walker decided that scouting a bit in to the three hallways would be wise. "Gil you take the right path I'll take the left then we will return and check the middle." The left and right path seemed to turn a bit more than the center so Walker was thinking it was longer and went farther up.

Gil stood up, now that they had rested he was ready. He proceeded forward walking on the slopes curving halfway. The walls were smooth but every few feet carvings were evident. As he walked he felt he'd traveled a distance upward but the end was near. He came to a dead end, another alter say In front of him. However, no books or scrolls were present. There was an ancient religious amulet and some coins. This was a complete bust! Gil grabbed the items and headed back in a huff having wasted time.

Walker had headed down the left hallways and come to similar conclusion. However his dead end housed an ancient suit of armor which Walker examined with his skill.

'Undying faith ceremonial armor

Carved from bloody stone this armor was believed to assist in the connection with the gods.'

This stone red armor was carved with many symbols and patterns. Its shoulders held spikes and the helm a skeletal carved face. The bracers and boots were carved to look like the heads of snakes. This would have been a terrifying sight to see if walker did not know it was ceremonial only and lacked battle prowess.

Walker quickly stored away the Armor knowing it could help their test grade if they ever escaped the catacombs. The walk back to the domed chamber seemed faster than his slow sneak upwards.

Gil and Walker came back to the room at the exact same time. The two exchanged a look and put arms around each others shoulder pushing each other to and fro. This was a bro moment. Both found it comical that they completed their scouting at the same time.

"Ehhmm ladies if your now done flirting..." Remey saw an opportunity to get a good jab in and took it whole heartedly. However the huge smiles and odd postures of the two made Gil and walker freeze.

"Soo what's are you guys hiding behind your backs?" Gil noticed Remey and Su using her shield to block them from seeing behind them.

"Remey I think it's time." Su looked at Remey and Remey nodded back.

In unison the pair said "we present the all new Midnight!" From behind them Midnight jumped out. However the stunning part of all this was two small wings down the length of her back. These wings looked to be made of bones. Pure white skeletal bones with a think black membrane between them making up the wings. The adult scales around where they were attached had white lines through the mainly black translucent parts.

Gil and walker were dumbfounded "how! When! What happened!" They were only gone at most an hour or two to scout.

"As soon as you two left midnight kept rubbing on the walls and trying to scratch her back. She had a lot of loose scales so we helped her and before we knew it we saw her wings poking out!" Su and Remey were absolutely giddy. "We were very worried at first but remembered what you had said."

Remeys smile was infectious "we were the first to see midnights new wings!" The two seemed to have bonded with midnight through this.

Meanwhile midnight was prancing side to side showing off her wings. It was obvious she couldn't use them yet as she needed to develop the muscles. Her pride as a dragon swelled now that she had her wings.

"Have you guys ever heard of a skeletal dragon before?" Walker's question caught them off guard. "I saw it in the book I read while looking for information on dragons. They often consume bones in their life and have extremely high defenses. They have wings very similar to midnights. If I were to place a bet I would say midnights father was a skeletal dragon and she Inherited those wings from her father's blood. And they look like they have mixed with her mothers black scales. Between a skeletal dragon and a dark flame dragon she would probably be the tougher of the two now because she got the defense of qualities of one and the other.

The party was enthralled by Midnight's wings. Normally after seeing so many skeletons seeing something bone like would put them down but this changed their whole perspective. "Wait does that mean she will lose all he black scales?" Remey seemed dejected that midnight may grow out of he pure black scales to pale while ones.

"I'm not sure it seemed like those ones by her wings are a mix. So in theory she's just getting stronger scales and highlighted colors. I think it looks pretty cool." After Walker's last sentence midnight puffed he chest up more. She was really enjoying this attention.

"So Gil while we're resting again what did you find?" Walker didn't think the armor was worth sharing since it wasn't valuable.

"It was a dead end only another alter with those religious amulet and a few coins. It was a waste." Gil shook his head and looked hopefully at the last hallway.

"Same here mine lead to some ceremonial armor but nothing else." Walker was worried the third path would be the same and they would be trapped.

"Well no point in sitting here I'm going to scout the last one. Wish me luck." Everyone gave Gil a nod and a wave as he jumped to action.

This hallway was much like the others but it slowly became wider the higher Gil went. The roof of this hallway also mirrored the domed theme of the prior room. After an hour of walking the incline had become steeper but Gil could care less about that. He had just found something interesting.

Directly in front of him was a wall of bones. It would be unusual anywhere but here however the way it was placed made him think there was more to it. Upon investigating it wasn't a complete dead end, Gil could feel a slight drift coming from the cracks between bones. The bones were arranged perfectly with three skulls in the center. There seemed to be nothing concrete holding them together. Gil gave the wall a solid kick and instead of breaking through was met with an unyielding force. This was not just a wall. With this information, he was ready to let the party know. Using the party chat function he told them everything was clear and that he had a puzzle for them. 𝚋𝚎ｄ𝚗ｏｖ𝚎𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖

Walker wasn't sure what kind of puzzle Gil was referring too so he doubled his efforts along with the others to get up to him. Upon seeing the bone wall blocking their path Gil stood there like a fool pointing. "No idea how to break this, good luck" Gil laughed and sat down to watch Walker work.

Walker went about the same methods as Gil, noticing a draft from between bones, that nothing seemed to hold it all together, and let a solid kick at it.

"Pfft that's not a real hit let me do it." Remey wound up and with a shout unleashed a powerful punch. Her knuckles grinding on the bones. However not a single dent was made. He face contorted in pain almost as if she'd struck the toughest dragon scales. "What in the holy heavens are these things made of? It didn't even scratch!" She was astounded that her punch was perfectly resisted. However as Remey had punched at the wall a strange thought was occurring to Walker.

Walker reached out his hand and attempted to let mana flow in to the bone wall. The wall then shone with a myriad of complicated patterns. Walker's hunch had paid off. Seeing that there was a rectangular spot where the patterns were not complete in between the skulls of the wall he knew exactly what belonged there.

"Ya know Gil if you're going to find a puzzle you should probably find one without a key." Walker smirked pulling out the ancient talisman and placing it between the skulls.

The skulls eyes glowed for a moment and all the bones fell to the ground in to dust immediately. The wall was gone letting way to an open hallway. However there was a drastic difference in the quality of the walls and walkways itself. The walls symbols weren't faded at all last where the bone wall had been. The stone floor was clean and free of dust. This put everyone on edge fearing they had entered somewhere they shouldn't be.

As they walked it was noticeably brighter allowing Walker to hold the abyssal serpent egg to gain a bit more light. There were no echoes or bones or scratching up ahead and he was put at ease. Any hints of traps were not there in this hallway. They noticed that the path was slowly becoming stairs until they were completely walking upwards on a large spiral stair case. They had to stop many times to rest as the more seemed to be unending stairs.

Soon they could hear a tap tap tap repeating over and over. It's was often a habit impatient people picked up as they waited for something. This cause Su to tense up as she lead the way. The others prepared themselves for what may lie ahead.

They reached the cusp of the stairs, a strange glow was coming from the room up top. The party shared looks preparing themselves to see what awaited them. Would they be able to survive? Was this an exit? Will there be another trap? What if it's a dead end? This questions and more rang in their heads.

They mustered their courage all stepped out from the stair way. They were caught in awe immediately.

The stone walls were engraved with gold. Depictions of creatures growing from infancy to adulthood to death were depicted everywhere. The gold glow from many crystals made the room feel as if it was full of power. There were racks of armors and weapons. Chests of perfectly polished ancient and recent gold coins. Jewels glimmered from jewelry. Elegant tapestries showed brilliant colors and scenes of those praying. Towards the back of the room the tap tap tap sound stopped.

An old voice seemingly filled with power and dread echoed, "two hundred thirty three years four month and seven days since I received a visitor. Yet not one but five have come to pay respects." A skin crawling laughter reverberated through the room.

This voice was coming from a cloaked figure sitting atop a pearl white throne. The throne itself stood out not because of its color but the fact that it was carved from pure bone. "Now speak your names so I may know who has come asking of me." The voice was demanding and sweat quickly grew on their foreheads. This was not someone they could escape from.

Walker didn't want to cause the death of everyone so stepped up to take the brunt of the attention. "I am walker, this is my party Su, Remey, Gil, and midnight. We are adventurers who came to the ancient ruins for a test and happened to come to the place you see us now." Walker watched the cloaked person closely.

At first the party had thought this person to be living however they saw a black skeletal hand from the sleeve of the cloak. Walker quickly used his skill to check and see any possibility of escape. This could all be an illusion to escape right?

' ancient liche king

The skills of this monster are not comparable to an undead liche. This is an almost immortal undead creature. One body does not limit it along with other abilities to create and guide huge numbers of undead. Often created through many years of self experimentation or unholy Magics.'

Walker gulped back more fear seeing this. "Ah so you young one are their leader. And you have such a useful ability to see what I currently am." More laugher filled the room. The hood fell from the monsters head revealing a black skull with many black lines and symbols etched in to it. The eye sockets were filled with a white flame.

"In life they called me the king of the undying faith, now I am the immortal king. My god saw my efforts and rewarded me greatly. However as the time has passed it seems those outside here have become weak. Rarely do I see anyone who can make it here let alone the catacombs themselves. My experiments always prove too powerful." The king shook his head. Disappointment from its voice. "Sooo the question is why are you here, you said a test but those who find me are looking for more. The last to visit was a pathetic demon necromancer. Wanted knowledge to create an undead army, such a small mind."

Walker was unsure how to answer but before he did his system caught his eye.

' chain mission link complete:

Optional: find the sealed door

Reward:

300exp multiples to 3000exp.

Quest updated:

Optional: listen to the story of the last hero the immortal king met.

Reward: 𝙗𝒆𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙣𝙚𝒕

The immortal kings insight

Gift from immortal king

Optional:

Take the kings test and pass

Reward:

?'

The chain quest had been updated the two optional quests had been revealed but still did not seem optional at all. One reward was still unknown to them but this was not what Walker had been caught on. The immortal king this ancient lich king had met another hero!

"I mentioned before we came here to take a test this is to rank up to a higher tier adventurer party. However we also came here because the monsters here can be defeated in groups making us stronger. We have goals and dreams to pursue so we must become stronger." The answer was fairly cliche but walker felt it was right for the moment. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

The immortal king cocked his head to the side "I've met one other who tried to do the same...hmmm since you all have come to see me I will gift you with some history." immortal king brought its hand to its jaw and the patterns on its bones glowed slightly.

"In its prime this great city was magnificent, the people such as I strived for the immortal god's attention. We followed strict religious beliefs and life was harmonious. Often the outside rabble would be brought in to gain a chance to join us or be used as part of our learning. Most higher ups would experiment with magic, if we could learn more we could garner the gods attention and gain its blessings. To become an immortal is the Pinnacle of life. You understand the undying faith is one that strives to stand above death. Look at this body before you it's looking dead yet the souls within me brim with power and life." Immortal king laughed as he praised himself.

"One such rabble was brought in, a child with a mother. Something happened to the father but that's not important. Without names they were subject 912 and 913. The overseer made many notes that the mother 912 would fake courage in front of 913 while the testing occurred. For rabble such as them it was impressive. The system she possessed was one of a healer so she was perfect for discovering certain intricacies of life power. Sadly 913 had yet to show his system so all that was left was to let it watch and hope it unlocked something useful. This went on for many a month until one day the mother fell from life and became a low level undead. Didn't retain her soul or consciousness a complete failure." Immortal king shook his head still remembering reading the reports of a promising experiment failure.

"That instant the boy 913 unlocked its system. The overseer didn't even have a chance to react as 913 acted above a normal expected level one's power and escaped. This led to the overseer losing his position and a search for the missing subject. Unfortunately there was no evidence found. But that was not the end of it." The flow of the patterns seemed to radiate a bit almost as if the anger from years past was fresh.

"Some time later rumors of someone with a hero system trying to obtain the hero title spread. This naturally enticed our great undying cities hunters because a rare specimen as such would give them a life of ease when captured and turned if for a reward. The disgusting part was this hero was said to reside with the vampire trash! Those royal vampires hated the results of our experiments and religion. They thought themselves high and mighty for worshiping that god of blood. To think they were conditionally immortal as long as they fed on blood. Pathetic. What a half assed form of immortality, an insult to the great god of immortality." Waves of shadow and anger came from immortal king, it truly hated vampires to its very core.

"Our great city waged many a war against them to no end. We would never convince them of the pure immortality gained through the soul. I digress. This hero gained popularity over the years. Slaying our hunters and showing up to battles against the vampires. Soon we found ourselves in turmoil. No new subjects, along with unrest pushed us to full blown war. The vampires lead their strongest to our city and tried to take our undying life from us. We were able to cut the numbers down significantly but needed to resort to our last untested trump card. We fused all of our souls in to one body. My body" immortal king grasped at his throne with his free hand making the party wonder if it would shatter under its grip.

" The city was designed for this purpose, we would commit the greatest act, to fuse our souls and accept the blessing of the immortal god. The soul spire in the center of the city would attract the souls pulled from their mortal bodies and begin the fusion in to one body. However, since testing was not complete it left us all trapped and bound in the spire. Each of us our souls bound together became one, we had left mortal death behind and gained immortal life as a soul bound to bones. Our mortal bodies became playthings for us, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and so forth. Our experiments through the years became different..." trailing off it had realized it was getting in a tangent and returned to the main story.

"The vampire royalty was faced with our undead army and was forced to retreat. They had almost completely lost their species in this battle alone. Sadly we couldn't follow them to destroy the few remaining. But since they went to slumber and lick their wounds for a few hundred years it was not a loss." The immortal king paused a moment then continued. "Once the two sides had fallen in to ruin a young man walked down our streets. It was subject 913. He held a curved sword made by the vampires and slew undead left and right. Upon reaching the spire he had one demand, the undead that was his mother. Naturally we did not allow this but we were uncomfortable we were one now not many and lacked control of the powers from our souls. 913 slashed at us causing a few souls to be freed and fade away but he realized there would be no end. We told him we would use him as our prime experimental subject causing him to become enraged. To control him we forced the undead mother 912 to come. The reaction was not as good as we'd hoped 913 stated that he, Cosmos, had returned to rescue her. It appeared 913 was very broken in the mind. Seeing no proper response pushed 913 farther causing him to slay 912's undead body." The party was stunned immortal king was telling them the one and only person they heard about now to be a hero had lost his mind and slain his own mother. Would they be able to do the same if their family had lost their soul leaving behind a monster? Would they be able to remain sane?

"With this moment of weakness instead of following whatever quest he ignored it. He fought the very system the world gave him. His failure to rescue the one person he cared about cause 913 to become something else. It was fascinating. I watched intently as I saw cracks appear over the very soul of 913. To go against the world was very frowned upon, to say the least but to try and destroy your own system? Idiotic. 913 shouted and flailed about saying things that there was no point in having the hero system. That the world had played a cruel joke. 913 rambled for almost an hour before turning his blade on himself attempting to destroy the part of him the system resides in. Naturally there was a consequence. I witnessed true darkness and evil envelope him. This rabble that had once been of human blood gave up its very form of existence. The system 913 had broken and cast aside changed. When this evil aura and smoke faded what was left was a man bearing a tail and two horns. Sharp red claws on his hands and a sword permanently dyed in his own blood. The system which bore the name heroic system was now the fallen's system . The world and the system had cursed him but this did not stop 913. This subject 913 cosmos looked at us, at our very souls and said we were pathetic. He left that moment, we couldn't even follow his movement. We tried to send the swarm of undead after him but found he had sealed the city. Our army could not leave." The room trembled as it said these last words.

"These years we've had the undead gather our artifacts I've sent out talismans that will open the doors that lead here. Placed my experiments in certain areas. My entertainment has been slow. The more time passed the more treasure hunters, adventurers, knowledge sealers came but they never figured out the puzzles and keys I left to get to me. Sometimes I had them killed if they were weak, others I made my undead interrogate for information. 913 cosmos had left and joined the demons, stories of his ruthlessness scarred the humans and elves causing a massive war across the land. The hero wannabe had become a great evil instead. How amusing isn't it? I know not what happened to 913 now but I do not care. Lately I've been more interested in my experiments trying to fuse undead with living monsters to see if they can become a perfect immortal body so I can leave this place." Immortal king seemed to relax as he'd shared a rudimentary story of how things had reached this state.

This was a terrifying story for the party, they may not have plans to go against the system or the world but knowing there were major consequences would strike fear in to the bravest. They also had the title of hero therefore they worried that they could accidentally go against it and cause the same disaster as Cosmos.

"Sir, if I may ask. What happened to Cosmos after?" Remey was curious and was the first to break from her own thoughts.

"Ah finally another speaks, you look to be a fighter on the front lines. Those knuckles of yours give you away little one. To your question, I would say he's alive with the demons. His body and system may be cursed and I'm sure he suffers from many things. I doubt the world and system would allow him to escape from it so soon." An evil laugh escaped immortal king knowing the one who pushed and prodded to this existence was suffering brought it solace.

"Hmm it's been long since I've had guests. I'm interested in all of you and your systems but if I heed that I'll forget my experiments. There's been a slight snag combining ancient bones and living flesh. So should I kill you or release you?" The presence in the room became dangerous at this question.

Walker was thinking about what the immortal king was experimenting on and feared for the unlucky creatures that became its subjects. This sparked an idea, they'd fought something that fit the lines of what it was experimenting in. "Sir if you allow us to live and leave I am inclined to give you a gift. I know you have knowledge of corpse spiders, specifically females. There was a skeletal spider we killed that was very strange you may think interesting." Walker pulled the skeletal spider from his inventory making sure to keep a leg for proof for the guild in case they needed it. This skeletal spider had skeleton bones as its armor but they didn't burn when engulfed by the evil consuming flames. It had somehow started to become one with the bones themselves. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝘯𝑒𝘵

Walker placed the skeletal spider in front of the immortal king " I used a spell that burned and consumed undead on it but it only partially burned it. The bones seem to be part of it now. This didn't happen to the male corpse spiders. I hope this helps." Walker stepped back allowing the immortal king to fully grasp the creature.

Immortal king waved a hand and almost like on a string the skeletal spider rose in the air. Black threads seemed to probe the body. "Hmmm...interesting...young maybe third generation...you said the corpse spiders didn't show this?" After talking to itself the immortal king posed a question.

"Yes only the skeletal spider." Walker answers quickly not wanting to take away any focus from the spider.

"Interesting it was from another clutch then. Must have traveled to breed. This is sufficient then. I'll be keeping this spider. You are wise to use it as collateral. If I'd taken your bodies you'd most likely just be fodder for another undead golem since you destroyed one I made a few years ago." They were stunned, it was watching them even then! This was worrisome.

The skeletal spider was engulfed by darkness disappearing. "I'll allow you to live and as a good host I'll allow each of you to take or ask one thing. Think of it as a gift for bringing me a few things to think on for the next years." The words sounded in good faith but they knew there could be hidden dangers.

Gil stepped forward knowing they would need to make the best of this to gain benefits for the party but also for their kingdom as well. "Sir part of our test to advance our party is to defeat monsters here, gather knowledge, and treasures. Our kingdom knows little of the history of these ruins and I hope to ask for some history and religious books to bring back with us if possible." The others were impressed by Gil's smart request. He had immediately thought of something to help improve not just the party but the kingdom. The hero title was showing.

The immortal king waved his hand and a pile of five books rose from a spot of darkness on the floor. "You are wise to ask this of me, I have many copies of all history and religious texts. I'll allow you to take these and spread the word of the immortal god." Immortal king was impressed. These texts had long been collected by him and were not accessible by the normal people who came treasure hunting.

"Thank you very much sir." Gil motioned to Walker who stored the books away promptly. Still caught up on how well Gil had used his question the party was unable to stop Midnight from walking forward.

She let out a few growls and huffs which somehow the immortal king seemed to understand. "Ha ha ha ha arrogant like any other dragon. You may be a weak and small one but I can see why you'd want that. You hold skeletal and a dark dragon bloodline in perfect mixture. I shall not give you one of my bones however, it would cause your very soul to be enveloped and your body to die. But I will create something for you that serves what you desire. You may watch as you will only see something like this once."

The rest of the party was immensely confused. Did Midnight just ask to eat part of the ancient undead lich? Immortal king could have killed them all if he took offense to that. However their faces became even more astounded as immortal kind pulled off piece of its throne and started infusing the purest darkness to it. This small bead took form with stripes and engravings of pearly bone white and extreme darkness. This bead radiated profound understanding of darkness and death.

Immortal king spent a few minutes studying it before placing it in front of midnight "you would do best to have your little leader hold that for now, if you all make it from here it will put you to sleep for many a day." A slight chuckle was heard as it stated the if they make it from here. The feelings of dread washed over them again. Midnight delicately picked up the bead and dropped it in Walker's palm. It was small and held no weight but there still was a feeling of heaviness. Walker used his all around appraisal skill to see what it was.

'Condensed understanding

The forces of death and darkness have been condensed in to a single source. This item is uniquely created by those with a masterful understanding of the source component. This item can be used in various ways to increase understanding and to change the potency of a creature's blood.'

Walker had never heard of condensing ones understanding of something. If a master of a particular element did this would the results be the same? This lead to many other questions but since he had no knowledge nor had heard any rumors of such an item he had the feeling it was extremely valuable. What truly caught his eye was the potential to increase how potent a bloodline was. This meant midnight could become a more pure dragon than a normal mixed blood dragon. As such she could become much much more powerful.

"I'm sure you're surprised to see that" immortal king didn't have facial expressions but walker could tell it was smirking. " I made something similar for that demonic necromancer when he came a few hundred years ago, however he only wanted knowledge not true understanding. That brat cheated his way out of here using his master skills" immortal king tapped away at the throne with its hand in frustration. They all made note not to mention the necromancer no matter how curious they were.

Remey was the next to step forward, "there's not much I can think of to ask. I'm not as witty as the others but I'm smart enough to know I have many waiting for me to return. I also know that after this I'll be going to many more dangerous places. You sir said I was a front line fighter and we were very correct. I often leave the safety of our guardian. Our leader has a sister that can stitch and design things. My hopes are that you have a fabric as strong as armor so I could move faster but also be protected. This would help me a lot and make sure my party won't lose its main damage dealer to one attack." 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶

Remey may have thought she wasn't as smart as the others and humbly said such. Yet she was very wrong. What she's asked for was something only someone thinking ahead with strong battle instincts would ask. She used her knowledge of walkers sisters system to her advantage. Along with this she also asked for the fabric specifically. This meant that not only something for her could be made. It could benefit everyone in the party not just her!

Immortal king cocked its skull to the side thinking. "Hmm you are most interesting. I did not expect you to ask for a material. You say you don't believe yourself smart but your words betray themselves." Immortal king pointed a finger at a closed chest to his left. "Go open that and choose a color"

Remey walked towards a wooden chest immortal king had pointed to. It was fairly large and had a heavy lid. Remey opened it revealing many colors of shimmering fabric. 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒏𝙚𝙩

"Those are made arcane silk worm thread. I received them many years ago. The silk repels magic of all kinds and is as tough as steel. I used to wear robes made of such fabric. However, it became useless to me as I now have the ability to create cloaks made to boost my abilities greatly. I'm glad to get rid of some, having useless things is quite a pain." Immortal king was remembering before fusing with all the souls. Every grand priest of higher was given robes of this silk so they could perform their acts in battle safely.

Remey pulled a large roll of red and white striped arcane silk worn silk. "I would like to choose this one if that's acceptable." Remey held up the silk.

"Hmm yes it will match" immortal king nodded and Remey brought the fabric to Walker to store away. Su was the next to move forward.

"Ahh finically the defender steps forward, I'd believed you to be mute." Immortal king laughed heartily at its joke.

"Great sir I've thought about this and I know it is very selfish, but if you have any knowledge on unique spells to heal a person's weak constitution could you please give them to our leader? Not only can we use it to help others but it would mean curing my mother's illness." Su wanted to think of something else something better but she couldn't put aside a chance that this being which had lived for hundreds of years had an answer.

"Hmm challenging aren't you...why not bring that mother here and I'll make her undying?" Immortal king mocked her trying to put her on edge or potentially burst at anger as some guardians often do.

"Thank you for that kind offer however that is not what she or I would desire." Su gracefully declined not even phased by its words.

Immortal king grumbled as its mind games were unsuccessful. It now didn't feel amused and grabbed a scroll from the darkness tossing it to Walker. "That has 912's master healing spell sealed. It's one use. Heal her mother or whatever I care not. Now tell me your request so I can send you out." Walker caught the scroll and put it away. The worry after hearing immortal king's words increased. Su gave Walker an apologetic look knowing she had aggravated it.

Walker prepared himself, he'd been trying to think of a specific thing but instead decided to take a gamble. "Sir I hope to ask for one thing only you can give. I see the great power and belief you hold and know asking for something specific to be unwise. So I beseech you to give something you see fit in your eyes." This gamble was shocking. Everyone else was out in a state of even higher stress than before. Why had walker made this gamble!?

Silence reigned in the room, immortal kings tapping had stopped instantly upon Walker's words. He could feel immortal kings' look penetrating him. "Yes yes, an interesting suggestion. You are not lured by the shiny things here are you not? Well I've watched you through the eyes of other undead and I can not decided your system. It's very unique I'm sure." Small pools of darkness appeared around immortal king as it stuck its hands in and out seemly searching.

"Hmm no no...maybe...ah too good...oh the memories..." immortal king mumbled to itself item after item until a small palm sized bag was pulled out. This drawstring bag was a light blue with golden cords. "You told me to choose child and choose I have. Before the war our city was vibrant as blessed by the immortal god itself. However those vile vampires broke buildings, slaughtered people, and even brought true death to every plant within our city. You see the weeds and ruin outside this room." Notes of anger were apparent in its voice. Immortal king was viewing the great sights of the city before the attacks and soul fusion. They may not have been the most benevolent people however their city was a stunning sight showcasing life in many forms. "Take this, it holds many extinct plant seeds. I may lack taste but When I can leave this spire I desire to consume vile blood fruit once again. To see the weeping willows branches sway. To feel the prick of oozing vines!" The energy in the room was ever expanding as immortal king thought of more and more it had lost and wished to reclaim.

Walker hesitated hearing some of the names it said and worried it would bring misfortune to the world. However he had asked and would now need to receive. He could only rely on his skill later to choose wisely along with work with Gils mother to gain skills to grow them properly.

He reached out his hand to receive the pouch "child we expect you to plant these so that we can view them again. This is not for you but a gift for us."

'Quest: the return of life

As a hero, there are many things asked of you. Sometimes one must slay evil creatures and others retrieve a cat from a tree.

Requirement:

Plant and foster four plant species thought to be extinct back to life.

Rewards:

1000exp

A visit'

Walker's jaw dropped upon seeing this happen. They just received a quest from a gift from someone seen as evil? The things the people did in the ancient city were ghastly and cruel however they were still part of how the world worked. Without evil there was no good. This may not be a bad thing to persue however, what did the system mean by a visit? Would immortal king be escaping to see the plants or would something else be visiting? Before walker could continue in his train of thought he was interrupted.

"That look on your face says something happened." The immortal king held the bag dangling above Walker's open palm. "Tell me or I retract this gift." This was not something walker could bypass if he did not speak the truth he had a feeling his life would end.

"We just received a quest, one specifically to bring back these extinct plant species." Walker put on a better poker face and awaited the response.

"How could you receive a quest that would normally be for someone with a planting or botany system? Explain more carefully." Immortal king seemed more aggravated not having a specific answer. It seemed his curious it's was too strong to allow simple answers. Walker would have to give him more.

Hesitating a moment knowing it could anger immortal king walker mentally prepared himself. "We gained the title of hero while completing a quest. It was a hidden quest and we can't promise it would work for just anyone. Now we get quests related to a hero. It also helps that my unique system lets me gain any skill that's not a mastery skill. So I find the quests we receive to be of variety." Walker was waiting for it to explode in rage and kill them but instead he felt the bag land in his palm.

"Ah so the hero title is it? You're a lucky brat then." Immortal kin leaned back as if pondering this.

"Excuse me sir actually all five of us received the title." Walker clarified so that he wouldn't be called a lier. It could spell death if he seemed to lie.

"What?" Immortal king was stuck, had he really just said they all received it. Wait no all five? That little dragon as well? A monster a hero? Immortal king was an ancient undead lich who had existed for nearly five hundred years. It had never heard of five let alone a monster achieving the same title! He knew that any physical experimentation would not yield proper evidence of why a monster gained a title let alone a hero title.

"Sir I know this seems impossible, many have questioned us but it just is this way. I know you may be caught thinking of midnight as a monster but if a hero is to be a hero would they really care why kind of being you are? Even evil in its purest form needs good and possesses some itself." Walker's words were profound. These were things he had contemplated for hours each day wondering why Midnight a monster could be a hero. Thinking of what made them different but that was the thing, there was no difference. They were living and now even looking at an undead who had done great evil in its time. Walker could see why the quest was given. This ancient undead lich calling itself immortal king cared for the plants it knew in life that faded away. There was if it a speck of some good.

" what you said now may be the very reason 913 fell from the heroic system and never gained the true hero title." Immortal king was thinking for a moment, was it really wise to let them leave? With that in mind his next move was made up, he would test them the same as that irritating necromancer.

"I've made a decision, for you to be able to leave you must pass my test. I shall send you to the entrance of the spire. You may open the door and walk out. Simple is it not? If you get from there to the borders of the city you will be free, if not you'll be dead. Easy to remember isn't it?" Immortal king not only decided to test them this way because it knew the dangers outside. It also chose this because the necromancer had escaped using its mastery skills and it wanted a form of revenge by seeing its test succeed in defeating others. There was a sure chance that at least three of the five would perish.

The party knew this was not a simple test but a deadly trap. They had started out on the outer area of the ruins and ended up in its center. The center had the thickest swarms of undead. Zombies and skeletons were to be uncountable were other strong undead monsters were mixed in as well. The party knew they couldn't take down multiple undead golems so what would they do if they encountered multiple or even stronger monsters all at once. 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝙢

"Sir can we have a few moments to prepare and plan?" Walker did not immediately start laying out a plan with the party in fear that it could anger immortal king to act without its permission.

"Hmm you may have ten minutes no more no less, I allowed that bratty necromancer the same but he was unwise and denied it. I do not expect you to be the same." The hidden threat was evident in the strength of immortal kings words.

"Thank you sir." Walker gathered with the rest of the party. Fearful looks were all they had but walker had begun to think. " you guys remember the castle? The skill I used to scare everyone? I can use that then throw evil consuming flames in to the swarms. After that Su can take the lead plowing through anything in our way. We can't stop to finish anything. If we get in to a tough spot gil should be ready to use his new bow to open a hole for us. Remey and midnight you're to take each side of Su and keep anything from grabbing her. Together with Gil, I will watch our backs." Walker's plan was simple and efficient. Knowing that they might encounter something too strong to fight he chose a plan revolving around running with as little interference as possible.

Everyone was serious as this was one of the most nerve racking plan yet. The past days they'd felt as if their hearts could burst from their chests any minute. However this moment the fruits of their training and focus were showing. They may be fearful but they did not shake. They may be worried but they did not hesitate. They prepared themselves and looked at each other once more. It was time.

It seemed the undead rats never dwindled in number but increased. The ruined houses seemed to get farther and farther apart leaving larger space to run. However the more space around the more undead rats seemed to be surrounding them. In a matter of minutes they had a group of twenty jumping at them from time to time.

Walker caught himself wondering why there weren't any other undead around until he started focusing on his surroundings. Every once in a while they would pass piles of old clothing or armors. Others there were piles of broken bones that looked gnawed on. These undead rats were consuming anything and everything that moved in their territory. This was their part of the ruins and nothing that entered left.

Immortal king was surely laughing at this, it knew the in and out of the ruins. Sending them to escape from this depth of the ruins was a death sentence!

Remey was starting to find her punches missing and Su found two or three would hang up on her. These may just be undead rats but they had enough intellect to hang up on to their prey. This reason alone was why they posed such a threat.

Gil had resorted to firing arrows at the ones behind them to keep them away from their openings. This was working so far but it seemed like the undead rats used their speed to properly dodge.

"Su we need to get rid of these rats all at once, if you taunt them they will all focus on you and I might be able to burn them." Walker knew the situation would only worsen over time as they wore down the party's stamina.

Su was worried she wouldn't be able to block all of them but remembered her poison resistance skill. " yes I should be able to do that but you will need to be fast we'll only have a moment" the second she taunted Walker would need to attack.

"Gil. Remey, Midnight be ready to get the stragglers. We'll need to be quick." Walker said the orders to ready everyone. "Alright Su on your mark!"

This was the moment. Walker had his staff ready to aim at the biggest group. "Get over you! You stupid vermin!" Su shouted her taunt and every undead rat turned to her direction. They quickly moved in to a jumping position obviously planning on hurling themselves at the same time toward her. This was definitely more dangerous but the second they jumped walker could hit almost all of them.

A slight squeal was made by the largest of the group of undead rats and then they were off. They had all jumped at the same time aiming at the same spot on Su's shield. "Evil consuming flame!" Walker aimed and fired his white flame at them. It was perfectly set up hitting the rat in the center of the group. Some immediately fell to the ground burning. Others landed and ran around in panic.

Arrows whizzed by Su as Gil fired at the two Walker had not caught in the fire. Midnight was swatting away the ones that were burning from Su. While Remey was stomping on the ones that had lost mobility to finish them. Their small plan had worked and twenty undead rats were either defeated or turned ashes on the stone ground.

They wanted to rest but knew they needed to keep moving. The sun had begun to rise and they knew that this was a temporary relief in pursuit. They had a fairly straight path to exit the ruins but they could see small groups of undead shambling through the streets. As they ran they dodged and ignored any other undead. The sun had risen significantly in to the sky by the time they stopped moving.

Once they had begun to recognize their first hunting area from when they were luring undead it was simple. They relaxed a bit knowing that the majority of the undead had been defeated by them.

Easily reaching the square they had begun to feel the fatigue of running most of the day. But knew they couldn't stop until they'd left the ruins completely. With a final burst of energy then moved towards the outskirts. However, they were blocked by a lone zombie. The strange part about this zombie was it held a small box in its hands. Before they could do anything they heard immortal kings voice. "I believed the rats would get two or three of you but I did not expect all five to survive. It was rather entertaining, so I'll allow you to pass." With that, the zombie turned to dust leaving the small box.

Walker approached it hesitantly seeing the system prompt that they had completed the quest and passed immortal kings test. No reward was displayed meaning it wasn't a system reward but a reward from immortal king itself.

Carefully opening the lid five silver skull rings shined in the sun. Using his all around appraisal skill walker checked them.

' silver skull ring

Rings made from minerals found in high level undead. This naturally repels low level undead'

This was a fairly useful way to avoid the undead swarms since most were made of low level undead. Walker was relieved it wasn't anything insane and dangerous. He passed out one to everyone mentioning what it did and found that the one he gave midnight expanded to fit the front leg.

They walked a bit farther to where they had camped in the past. As soon as their foot hit the campsite the system updated them.

'Chain quest completed:

Escaped the catacombs.

Rewards:

200exp multiplied to 2000exp.

Chain quest completed, all optional sections completed, all rewards collected'

Upon seeing the notice everyone instantly let the sheer amount of stress roll off them. With barely any energy to set up tents, they started to rest. They had finally escaped. The thoughts and worries of the adventure guild rank up test were not to be found. All that mattered was they had escaped with their lives after meeting a terrifyingly strong creature. They weren't sure anyone at the guild would believe them even after showing their proof. But that was something to worry about later. They needed rest and to travel back to be evaluated.

After resting for more than a day the party had all gathered around to prepare to travel back. They had no idea how long they had been lost in the catacombs.

They had advanced a significant amount of levels from the quests and hadn't stopped seeing notifications of defeated undead until just last night. It seemed the evil consuming flames were eating away at the swarms near the center for some time.

The fruits of their labor were unprecedented. They did not know the chaos they had cause Clara in these days. However as they cleaned up and started their journey back to the guild they thought on their newfound levels and experiences.

Walker

Jack of all trades system

Title: hero

Level 14

109230/163840exp

Hp-21

Def-22

Mdef-18

Atk-22

Matk-26

Char-16

Agi-26 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

Mana-30

He had many gears to boost mana and recover mana and had gained a new one the silver skull ring which detected low level undead. This item everyone in the party received and it would definitely help against undead swarms in the adventuring career. Walker had also gained a new skill elemental fusion which he was contemplating experimenting with once he returned to their mansion. Making use of the training ground to learn other elemental spells would be the best move. He had also learned a spell call evil consuming flame which was an incredible help in dealing with large swarms of undead.

Su

Shield bearer system

Title: hero

Level 14

109230/163840 exp

Hp-30

Def-33

Mdef-33

Atk-25

Matk-15

Char-15

Agi-25

Mana-25

Su had also gained much through these days. She had truly seen how important her role was as the main defender in the party. She had gained a poison resistance skill that would really put her above other defenders. She knew her weakness was agility and had put some of her skill points in to it when she leveled up. She had also acquired a scroll with a master level healing spell inscribed upon it. She knew it came about through nefarious means hundreds of years ago. The ancient undead lich had experimented and tortured someone for this very thing. Yet she knew this may solve the problem that haunted her mother her entire life. Once she completed the healing Su would be able to give all of her energy to the party and pursue their goals and dreams. The very thought made her heart beat stronger.

Remey

Brawler system

Title: hero

Level 14

113810/163840 exp

Hp-30

Def-30

Mdef-21

Atk-34

Matk-16

Char-13

Agi-32

Mana-27

Remey had learned a great amount as well. Some more important than others. She had learned when to speak out and when not to in the face of immortal king. She knew she was powerful but no one could stop it from getting in to her head. She grew more accustomed to working with the other party members. When faced with death she remembered not that she should escape but that she should find a way to survive until the end. This lead her to pick a very rare arcane silk which could be made in to incredible clothing. The party could all benefit from having stronger defenses and lighter gear. This would increase their battle prowess even further.

Gil

Ranger system

Level 14

Title: hero

109230/ 163840

Hp-24

Def-25

Mdef-25

Atk-30

Matk-30

Char-21

Agi-26

Mana-23

Gil had been an integral part of finding a safe path in the catacombs. The party had leaned on him to act as a scout and spot traps. He'd gained himself a new bow which allowed him to fire magical arrows made of his elemental affinity. From this he learned he had a wind magical affinity. Consequently this was the best affinity for someone who uses the bow. It had been said that even the wind would guide their arrows to the target. Due to his position when hunting in the square he had learned how to watch the whole party and react to danger. This put him right next to Walker sometimes assisting in more plans. He had more or less shown he could stand as second in command of the group. He'd even become pretty good at snapping Walker out of his thoughts and bringing him back to reality. His thought to ask of history books from immortal king would prove a huge boon to the entire kingdom and not only their test. His critical thinking was expanding as well.

Midnight

Skeletal dragon/ black crystal flame dragon system

Title: hero

Level: 8

Exp: 10260/102400

Hp-150

Def-100

Mdef-100

Atk-125

Matk-125

Agi-80

Mana-100

Midnight had shown an uncanny ability to sneak up on her prey. This was something she was born with but learned to truly exploit against the undead. She had shown the others her father's blood line unintentionally by munching on bones and eventually showing off her wings. The surprise of showing her wings was enough to send walker in to a spiral however she also demonstrates the change to her adult scales. This was surely the start of her growth spurt towards a young adult dragon. She'd gained condensed understanding from immortal king in both death and darkness which would strengthen her bloodline. She would consume this once safe at the mansion and most likely sleep for days to digest it. The party could only guess why amazing changes would occur.

They all stood before the kingdoms gate after some days traveling. They had all spoken and shown off their new levels. They found counting the zombies, skeletons, corpse spiders, undead rats, undead golem, and other random undead they'd defeated to be impossible. They also had faith that even if they had defeated zero they now had enough within Walker's inventory to get them to the next tier. They had made it home. The feelings of relief washed over them. Soon they were all smiling as they stepped forward. The sun was high in the sky and they had a meeting with the adventurers guild. They couldn't wait to surprise Clara and maybe even cause a little commotion by telling guild master ibis about the immortal king.

The party took the center of the street and walked tall. The pride they felt in returning was immeasurable. This had been the longest any of them had been gone from their homes. They walked slow enjoying the sounds of their home city. The hustle and bustle welcome over the previous common sounds of bones and scratching. It seemed as if the walk to the guild was short to them. The building soon stood tall in front of them the door asking them to open it. ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Walker opened the door to see the normal groups sitting around chatting, clamoring for quests, and returning completed reports. A few new faces were attempting to gather a party spared glances at them but quickly gave up noticing they had already formed one. Clara was nowhere to be seen after a few minutes of looking.

"Excuse me miss!" Walker hailed a smaller blond woman who was running by. "Have you seen Clara? She's our party manager and we've just returned." The woman almost dropped her paperwork on the ground.

"You say your Clara's party? Wait your the one causing all the commotion? But your so young?" The woman had let her thoughts run from her mouth before she knew it. These young adventures that looked green as grass had been the reason for all the drama upstairs. Orders for preparation to receive a large amount of items had pushed the basement in to overdrive to process and make space. Paperwork had been filled out to get ahead of the soon to come influx. The guild master and Clara the floor manager had been cooped up in the office for days at one point. Whenever another employee saw them they were mumbling about impossible things. The slaying of swarms of undead? A low tier party defeating a mid tier undead golem? It all had sounded like they lost their minds. And standing in front of her the ones that supposedly did it all.

"Umm uuh um y-yes she's here pardon me before I was surprised. I'll go notify her now. Please wait a moment." She snapped herself from her daze placed down her paperwork and rushed upstairs to the guild masters office.

The sound of thudding footsteps were heard on the floor above along with the stairs until a familiar face burst from the stairwell. "I SWEAR YOU IDIOTS! If you'd been one day later you would have failed the two month requirement!" Clara wanted to tell them she was happy to see them, to ask them a million questions about what happened. However the second she heard they were back she felt the anger of knowing if they were a day later their amazing accomplishments no matter what they were would be written off as a failure.

The party as a whole was taken back, never had they imagined Clara able to yell so much so that she could silence the entire first floor. Many parties looked at her in fear knowing her position as manager of the first floor. They also were taken back by her tone and made note never to anger her. Clara however quickly realized she had made a scene and straightened her jacket clearing her throat. "Please follow me to the guild master office" the curt and simple sentence again shocked those on the first floor since she was escorting such a young party up to the guild masters office of all places!

The party may be in slight shock but they knew the exact reason. They had been unable to properly keep time in the catacombs and had just found out they almost lost the right to advance from this test. Not only would it have been a recorded failure but it also would have severely limited their long term progress as adventurers. It wasn't uncommon for a party to fail however the reason for failure is often more important. If the party failed due to encountering monsters or situations that were too challenging it was more acceptable because they could still grow stronger in the future. But if a party failed because they didn't bring proof or failed the time limit it showed that they lacked the ability to complete quests properly overall. That fact alone could end an adventurers career because having that ability was why they were relied on.

These thoughts bombarded the party as they stepped upwards towards the guild masters office. They had been so happy to slowly walk to the guild as if they had all the time in the world. They couldn't have been more wrong!

None of them dared to speak as Clara lead them to the office. Upon entering they found ibis sitting and waiting expectantly. In front of him was a stack of documents that seemed to be labeled omnipotent party. This added another layer to the stress and fear the party felt at the moment.

Clara took a seat next to ibis and they both looked at each other as if having a silent conversation. "We have been waiting for you return, here we have gathered every defeat your system sent me as your manager. Please as the party leader begin from the second your foot left the city to the second your foot entered the city. Every detail as possible and as it happened." After Clara had spoken she and ibis both pulled out blank sheets of paper and writing utensils. They looked like two students ready to study.

Walker shook off some fear accepting that the pair looked so serious because of the test. This of course was not the case but the party was still ignorant of how big an effect their actions had. Walker started explaining little by little. Clara became stuck for a moment when he explained how they lured and created their own little swarms of undead to use a new spell on. She interrupted him for the details and inter workings of the spell. However ibis became stuck on the undead golem. He himself in his youth once had to fight one and did not expect the young party to have the strength to do so themselves. The pair did not know that the story was about to shock them even further.

Once walker had gotten to the part where they had been trapped in the catacombs Clara became very serious.

"Was that when you encountered the corpse spiders? I know they hunt above ground but often create nests below ground." She had picked up many bits of information due to working at the guild. This was one of those.

"Yes, we encountered a nest and even have the eggs left from it. We plan to sell them at the auction as a bundle with some zombie flesh and skeleton bones for tamers who want to raise them." Clara was impressed by the forward thinking but was also glad Walker had not pulled out an egg to show off. If it had hatched in the office she would have instantly killed it.

Ibis and Clara jotted down a few more notes before walker continued. They were fairly interested in the skeletal spider and ibis himself took the remaining leg to personally deliver it to the basement. The guild had created many books based off of monster anatomy and this was an interesting evolution for corpse spiders. This could change some of the outdated information.

The pair seemed unhappy that the party was unable to map out the ruins but understood that they had unintentionally entered the catacombs below. Ibis also showed interest in the ceremonial armor and asked if it too was being sold in the auction. Walker had planned to do just that not knowing if it had any value other than historical. "Yes actually it is very popular with collectors. Barry happens to be one. He may not wear much armor ever but is a fanatic for collecting. Just don't tell him I told you." Walker and the party weren't much surprised by this they had assumed Barry may be interested in something of the sort due to his high physical battle history.

Walker handed it over to ibis who told him he would deposit 500G for it in their party account. This surprised everyone that the guild master was willing to spend so much on something not even fit for combat. However not a single one of them protested. They needed not worry about auctioning it now.

Continuing on they spoke of finding the skeletal archer. This rare form of undead was a tough opponent for most but luckily had been encountered in a smaller space. If it had been in an open area it may have been a different result. Gil showed off the bow impressing ibis "this Very well is a weapon that could last you a lifetime. Even if you get a stronger bow it may be better to use it as materials to enhance this one. I strongly recommend having some elemental crystals used to temper it. Specifically for your affinity." It was sound advice. Using air/wind crystals would most certainly help Gil cut down the firing time of his elemental arrows. In a tight spot less than a second could mean life or death.

Once walker explained the undead leeches ibis and Clara chanted in their heads how happy they were that the Party escaped. The pair had seen some remains once upon a time that had been the results of such leeches. It was never a pretty sight or story to hear of an unfortunate adventurer that fell in one of the ancient ruins water ways. There had even been a poor soul that drank from one. Many monster encyclopedia of the undead variety warned not to go anywhere near them and to especially avoid rain in the undead heavy areas since the leeches could travel small distances to hunt.

Upon sharing the growth of midnight wings she stood tall and gave them a soft flap. In these few days she had gained a small amount of control over them. She was far from flying but now could fully extend them to cause a small breeze. That however did not stop her strutting around the office for a few minutes as walker explained her fathers and mother bloodline. The pair furiously scribbled notes knowing those in the research team would kill them if they didn't share this. In depth knowledge on dangerous dragons was always far and in between.

After being reminded of the talisman the party had found the two grew even more interested. A few other talismans had been found and were thought to be completely useless as no one had found the doors. Some had been sold as collector's pieces. The news that they actually corresponded to a door was big news. This being released would push many to go to the ancient ruins and persue treasure. However the next words were enough to break through their initial shock.

The news of an ancient undead lich existing within the central spire of the ancient ruins was ground breaking. Such a creature had the ability to slaughter whole armies. Walker quickly described what his all around appraisal skill stated about it and even gave them the name it told them. The more he told them about immortal king the more they seemed to grow pale. After he told them about it fusing its soul from every living soul in the city and becoming trapped did they finally gain some color to their faces.

The entire story of the previous hero caused ibis to sweat. Clara however was surprised. This was something she didn't know. Walker became perplexed at the reaction of ibis but knew he had to finish every detail. Reviewing the conditions of their gifts and how immortal king had decided to test them Clara and ibis felt like their hearts would jump from their throats. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺

Describing their escape plan clad and ibis began to realize just how much this party had advanced mentally. Due to their resolve to get stronger they pushed their minds to develop faster than a normal party would. Years of experiences had been burned in to their minds. Not only their minds but it was evident in the short time since ibis brought them to the castle that these five had become significantly stronger. Their ingenuity would allow them to overcome stronger parties in level. Once Walker had finished speaking and described their calm and thankfully basic trip back the pair finally relaxed.

Ibis took a large stamp from his front drawer. A slight bit of mana infused in to it as her stamped the papers with a thud. Next thing the party knew his papers had burned to nothing. This magical item had disintegrated the papers to send the knowledge elsewhere. "Hmm now the king has a copy, this will be a confidential matter. We will use Clara's notes to produce a doctored report. If everyone knew of the door talismans and an ancient undead lich giving away power every adventurer would run to their death. Basing off of immortal kings temperaments it would most likely play with them all and we would be at a grave loss." Ibis did not want to admit that even he most likely couldn't defeat such a monster. This ancient undead lich could be felled by a Diamond tier adventure party but one that had fused with many souls most likely possessed powers beyond that which was expected.

Clara released an exasperated sigh "we've been watching your progress using my managerial abilities. We received the same notifications you all did as you defeated monsters. With This, we can gather the scope of your ability. With the additional history books, you brought back and even the materials your rank up is more than guaranteed. However since you've all smashed every previous record from any test we had to reevaluate." These five had no idea what they'd put them through. "Now you said you would auction some things off? Does that mean you will have the guild process the excess?" This question was to ascertain if they wasted their time preparing the monster dissection in the basement for their arrival.

"Yes exactly, we should only need five bones and five parts of zombie flesh for each egg. The rest well sell to the guild for processing. We know it won't turn much of a profit however. We also gathered broken and rusty weapons and armors so we will also sell those to the guild. I know there's a partnership with the forge and they will receive these as materials. The ancient gold coins we received we would like to exchange for minted gold coins of our kingdom. Lastly some of the ancient religious accessories we would like to hand over to you and the guild as well. I'm sure they are common but maybe they will be useful for history. Oh! Also I already took the time to read those history books on the trip back here so at a later date I'd like a copy of each to place at the mansions library. If you need help translating anything I can now read the language of the ancient city." Walker unloaded his plans amazing the pair yet again at how thorough he was.

"Yes I'm sure the research devision will be dragging you in to the library as a translator. They might even keep you for the rest of your life." Clara laughed at her joke but knew that it was very much true after seeing that they could spend days without sleep in study. Once they gained traction in a subject it was like fighting the tide.

"Ah yes we especially prepared them for the influx of materials so don't worry about dropping it all off today. It will be nice to put them through the wringer once in a while." An evil glint could be seen in the old mana eyes. He had lost many a bet with the head of the dissection and research divisions and this was a nice opportunity for a little revenge.

After that ibis began sifting through another drawer in his desk. The clinking of metals ever present. "Ha! Found them." He pulled five identical silver plaques from the drawer. "These are your new plates. We would have like to send you directly to gold tier adventurer party but your level is just not high enough to allow you to safely go on gold tier quests. However we have decided that your party should be able to properly handle silver level quests. Your mental fortitude and creativity have given birth to an advanced form of teamwork. We are both very impressed." The party each took a medal not believing the color they saw in their hands. This was insane! They had jumped straight to silver in such a short time.

"Now don't let it go to your heads. You are all still young and easy to target. Not to mention having this tier now along with your title will most likely cause trouble. We will be able to use your title as a deterrent from some but others will say you got lucky and try their luck." Clara's words were out of worry but also out of past knowledge. She had seen parties grow to a new tier a bit faster than others Only to be ambushed or worse by others at the completion of quests causing the party to fall apart or worse.

They all took her words to heart while affixing the knew medals to their person. Once they had done so ibis spoke up, "I understand you may all be tired but you will need to head downstairs with Clara to deal with the basement. After such we will get to work and later release the results to the public as we always do to congratulate those parties. Please take notice of the ranking board downstairs. Your party will now be on the silver bulletin." Ibis was trying to move them along so he could begin creating the doctored test results along with check for a reply from the king. He would not get much sleep tonight. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

Clara stood up and with a gesture began leading the party downstairs. After returning to the first floor she lead them to a secondary stair case leading to the basement. The noises of sawing, chopping and even some boiling liquids started to be heard. There were many strange and exotic smells mixing. The party was about to enter the research and dissection division of the guild.

Besides the smell the basement had sights that would cause a run of the mill citizen to loose their lunch. Many monsters of various sizes lay on large tables cut open exposing all of their internal organs. People were poking and prodding them. Some wore thing rubber suits to explore the anatomy of more hazardous monsters while others wore nothing but a shirt and pants. Various tools were being used from saws to extremely sharp blades. There was even someone hammering away at rock like scales with a chisel.

Clara lead them to a large open space, "this is the spot for your party. Please empty everything you are going to have us process right here." Clara may not have been showing it but she was extremely interested to see the multitude of items brought back. It was rare for a single party to bring back so much. Usually only large raid groups against swarms or large monster hoards would bring back items in bulk.

Walker proceeded to pull most of the undead bones from his storage leaving only enough to sell with the corpse spider eggs. He did the same with the zombie flesh. Next the sound of clattering weapons and armor sets as all of them came out of nowhere. Followed by the leather armors and the ancient gold coins which got their own pile. The pile was almost as tall as Walker seeing as he just stacked it all on top of each other.

However he then began emptying the undead ashes in to the area around the items. It was true minerals could be extracted from the ashes of the undead. However this massive quantity was too much. Not only would this take time to process by the alchemist guild would not need undead ashes for the next year at least. This was a rather unique ingredient for potions. Often used in paralyzing potions as a thickener to get it to coat weapons. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.ｏｒｇ

Clara thought she had somehow stumbled in to a desert made of ash. This is what happened to all of those they had defeated. That's why the zombie flesh was such small amount compared to the amount defeated.

The sounds had died down around them and the party found many of those once at work to be eyeing the pile. This was the insatiable curiosity those of the dissection and research division possessed.

They noticed a skinny man walking towards them. He was bald and wearing thin framed glasses. Adorned in his body were many leather holsters. They contained knives of many sized, little to large saws, and even some strange needle like tools Walker had never seen.

"Looks like a good haul you brought us this time eh? Clara?" The man was looking at the pile like it was a feast before him. "My name Richard and I'm in charge of the weirdos down here. It's best to get out of the way, once my colleague gets over here she might drag ya to the library for the next year." The party didn't see this as a threat but more of a warning based on a true story.

They were dumbfounded, were they really being kicked out? Should they be lucky not to stay in the skin crawling area or should they be angry not to see how it's evaluated. "Let's go, it's best to listen to him. Once he starts he won't be much use anyways he'll get too absorbed." Clara rolled her eyes knowing that most working down in the basement would stop and help Richard causing a frenzy of analysis. It was basically throwing bait to a shark tank.

The party left still a bit ruffled. As they returned to the first floor Clara spoke again, "congratulation on ranking up substantially. As your party manager I will place the proceeds from the items left here in your bank account. Also since you desire to place some items in the auction I will procure tickets. The auction is held once a month. Since you reside in the upper tier now you will be allowed to attend the Garnet family auction. They are renowned for up keeping strong civility during auctions along with extremely tight security. Lastly I am ordering you all to rest. You gained many levels too fast and you need to all adjust. I will be denying you quests for one week." Clara's words and face said there would be no arguing with this. Walker almost spoke up but realized he had no chance whatsoever.

With that Clara promptly left and headed back upstairs. She knew that the longer she dawdled the longer it would take to set everything up.

The party had nothing more to do and had decided to finally head home. Tonight they would need to feast. However they began to caught strange glances and hear the odd whisper. To everyone on the first floor this young party had cause a scene and not only that but left the first floor stone tier adventurers but returned at silver tier!

There was something strange going on by most of the adventurers were of at highest bronze tier themselves and naturally feared those higher than themselves. However to be so young at silver tier cause many to doubt them. This could spell trouble for the future.

Avoiding most of the looks they left the guild and returned to the street. As they walked home they stopped at many stalls. They chose some exceptional roasted meat from a Minotaur, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and even splurged on some exotic spices. Walker would have bought dessert too but if he had his mother would kill him. Midnight took note of the quantity of food and was soon bouncing along with everyone almost pushing them to walk faster.

After some time walking they saw the mansion loom ahead of them. It may not be the peak of growing season however gils mother had stated to bring some green in to the gardens.

The garden was growing rather well even though the cold set in more and more each day. Dark green vines had begun to climb up some trellises set up in an archway. There appeared to be a roughly set up path snaking through an entire side of the garden. Walker could only imagine how nice it would be to wander through the growth as the sun rose.

The previous over grown spots of thorns had been completely torn out leaving only spaces for new plants to grow. Walker was imagining what would happen once all the new seeds he had were introduced, they would surely have the most wonderful garden in the kingdom.

Unfortunately nobody was outside at the moment so all the could do was enter. Once the doors were opened the party looked at each other, "three...two...one... WE'RE HOME!" They all yelled together causing their voices to echo.

Shuffling sounds were followed by loud running footsteps. Before walker could even turn Lisa had jumped on to his back in a huge hug. "Y—you we-were ggone so-o looong!" Walker hadn't expected Lisa to fly in to full tears but it was to be expected after they were gone almost two whole months. Consoling Lisa walker didn't even see that Gils mother had come from the stairs. The two were already talking fast.

From what walker could hear his father was off on a hunt for wild boar. Gil found that funny since his father had always complained about not being able to take the time to do so in the past. Now with their new home he had taken full advantage to pursue one of his dreams.

Su had run off up the stairs towards her mother bedroom. After they got situated Walker mentally reminded himself to go there with the scroll he had stored to allow Su to use it on her mother. Hopefully there would be even more to celebrate tonight. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Remey was looking a bit dejected since she didn't have any family here than the party itself. "I'm sure my fathers off guarding something or other. So want to go see what my mother things about the feast tonight?" Walker tried to distract Remey and it seemed to work like a charm.

"Ha! Let's go midnight and tell miss hilda all about our adventures before walker does!" Midnight was happy to go to the kitchen, she had missed Hilda passing her scraps to her as she cooked. Remey stuck her tongue out at walker and ran off with midnight in her heels.

"So Lisa, don't you want to hear what happened? You know I fought some pretty gross undead. We even met one that's been alive for hundreds of years. He gave Remey something nice that she wants you to test your skills on." These words were enough to spark Lisa's curiosity. She released walker from her death grip of a hug and looked at him wondering why they weren't heading to the kitchen like Remey. "Hey Gil don't forget about dinner!" Walker teased as Gil was still rambling on sharing everything. Gil brushed him off waving his hand for him to go away.

Before walker could throw more teasing remarks Lisa had grabbed his hand and began to drag him. She may have still be smaller than him but she was stronger than she looked.

They soon reached the kitchen where they could hear Remey talking "spiders are just so gross and we saw two different kinds those weird grey ones on the rocks tried to sneak and jump but those super gross ones underground worse zombie skin and bone they smmmeellleeeddd sooooo baaddd." Walker laughed to himself knowing that Remey got along so well with his mother. It made him happy to know she had shaken herself from her prior sadness.

Remey noticed walker coming in and gave him a glare turning back to Hilda "and he has some spider eggs! You need to tell him he isn't allowed to hatch them! He said we would auction them but he might be trying to fool me so he can have gross spider pets!" Remey was sneaky, she had involved his mother to make sure he wouldn't get another contracted monster. Her distaste for spiders knew no bounds.

"You come home and instead of bringing food and stories your brought spiders?" Hilda laughed at her own little joke knowing all too well walker and the rest of the party stopped to grab food.

As walker began to take the ingredients from his storage Lisa had clung to Remey. "Walker said you got a gift from someone and you were going to ask me to use my skills on it?" Lisa's excitement could not be contained to wait patiently.

"Hmm and did he say what it was?" Lisa shook her head no. "Good at least he knows that, walker can you give me that item?" Remey was used to teasing and creating mystery for her siblings at the orphanage and took on the act perfectly. She wasn't giving any hints until it was right in front of Lisa.

Remey and walker moved to obscure Lisa's vision as walker took the arcane silk from his storage. In the next second Remey spun around letting the free end wave and almost shimmer in the air. Lisa was star struck, this beautiful silk shine reflected in her eyes. This quality of fabric was something only the highest class seamstress or trailer could work with and there was a massive roll of it in front of her!

"Silk! Look it's silk! Mother they brought back silk!" Lisa was bouncing but holding herself back afraid to touch it just yet.

"Ehm well yes it's silk but it's called arcane silk, it's made from arcane silk worms thread. It's repels magic and is as strong as steel. So with your special needles you may be one of the only ones able to creat something from it." Walker was overjoyed seeing how happy his sister was. Their adventure may have had rough points but to know how happy the results made others was so much better.

"Actually because of this I had hope you could make something's for us." Remey spoke up on her plan.

Remey had been brainstorming while they had travels back home about what to ask Lisa to make. She had come up with ideas for everyone.

"That being said I'm basically placing an order, do you think your up for it?" Remey smirked as she said this.

Lisa looked ready to reply but paused and hesitated. He eyes shown with renewed vigor, "yes I accept the quest!" Lisa grabbed Remeys hand and started to pull her away. While struggling to hold the fabric and Lisa's hand Remey had no choice but to follow.

"Huh so Lisa received a quest from Remey asking to place an order." Walker was surprised and spoke out loud.

"Well for her profession that's how it would normally go, just like me I receive quests when I take orders for my baked goods." Hilda knew Walker had this information but decided to reinforce it since she knew he often fell in to his own thoughts.

After thinking on it a bit more walker decided it was best to help out with the cooking but was promptly forced out of the kitchen. His mother decided that none of them were to help cook at all since they were celebrating their return.

With his newfound free time walker wandered to the training area. He figured he might as well the the abyssal serpent egg absorb more light while he practices. After placing the egg down safely walker decided that since the small pond was there he might as well try to learn water magic.

Most of his skills had come situationally, he often didn't learn something unless it went with the flow. So he figured the best bet to learn something would be to directly gather some water in his hands.

"Freeze!..." nothing happened.

Walker knew it wouldn't be that easy but decided to try everything he heard of.

"Dance!...spikes!...flow!...rain!..." if anyone was witnessing this they would think him mad. But after over an hour of shouting and throwing water or letting it drip from his hands he was no where. To add insult to I jury as walker stood up his foot slipped on an algae laden rock.

Before he could do anything he was totally underwater. He could feel the muck on the bottom of the fond between his fingers. As he pushed up award he noticed the silt stirred by this motions.

"Skill water manipulation had been taken from the water elemental system.

Would the user like to learn water manipulation?'

Walker didn't even need to say yes just as his head breached the surface of the water his thoughts had already given the system the go ahead.

'Skill water manipulation has been learned.

Water manipulation- mana 1+

Gives the ability to manipulate water in to its many forms. The more mana used the more effect it will have. The water manipulated must exist is the area directly and can not be created.'

Walker dragged himself back to dry land trying to both read and not shiver due to how cold the water was. While doing so he realized it was the perfect way to test this new skill.

Walker immediately used water manipulations on the water covering his clothing and body. He noticed three mana had been consumed instantly. The water on his body and in his clothing started to drip down. It was repelled from him as if it had been mixed with oil. A puddle developed at his feet.

Walkers excitement grew as he placed a finger in the puddle and pushed more mana in to it trying to freeze it. Another three mana was consumed and the small puddle turned bright white freezing in to crunchy crystals.

Playing with his new skill walker tried to find the smallest amount of water he could control using only one singular mana point. This took much of his time and almost all his mana. Soon he realized that it was time to eat and quickly retrieved the egg. His spirits were very high.

Entering the indoor dining area he was amazed by the amount of food. The party may have gotten a decent amount on their way back but it appeared that his mother had truly out done herself. Perfectly sliced meats with mounds of roasted vegetables sat center. Peeled fruits were placed like little gems waiting to be eaten. Walker almost pulled one of the ten bottles of aged berry wine to drink with dinner since it would be an amazing surprise. However remembering its extravagant price he thought It smarter to save it for the auction. There would be many who would pay a hefty sum for one bottle which could easily fund the party for a good while.

"This all looks amazing!" Walker pulled out a chair and sat down. Naturally he had been the last to arrive since he'd been outside.

Everyone was eating and talking, walker could only feel he was extremely lucky to have so many people to share a meal with. Each member of the party took their turns sharing their adventures. This time they were more calm and didn't miss a detail. Their families looked in awe, and horror based on the part they were at. This slightly amused them as they were the ones who had lived it and had already accepted the absurdity.

The night approached and soon they realized they'd basically started to sleep at the dinner table. For everyone it was time to rest. They all deserved to revel in their dreams for the night. They wouldn't be able to go on a quest for a week so instead they would all go their own ways until the auction in a few days. Walker had his own plans to experiment with magic. Midnight would be absorbing the condensed understanding and most likely sleeping. Gil said he would run off to find his father and hunt a bit. Remey would spend time with her siblings at the orphanage, well basically beating them up. And Su was going to use the scroll in the morning to heal her mother. Walker offered to be there to help if needed so first thing they would do was to heal Su's mother.

It was almost a blink of an eye for the night to pass. Walker woke up refreshed and ready to go. However he found midnight eagerly waiting at the foot of his bed and he knew exactly why. She wanted the condensed understanding.

"Is there somewhere comfortable you want to process this?" Walker wanted to make sure midnight was ready for the days she would be passed out to absorb and understand this.

In response midnight started moving to the kitchen. Hilda had long set up a place for her to nap next to the oven and that was the place chosen. Seeing this walker retrieved the condensed understanding from his inventory and offered it in his palm. Midnight cautiously grasped it with her teeth before fully swallowing it.

The effect was grey and black strands of energy flowing around her scales and a cloud forming in her eyes. Her eyelids dropped as she began to fall off to sleep. Walker could feel a huge amount of energy from their connection and realized a minuscule amount was also effecting him. He wasn't sure what this would change in him but decided it wasn't too important since it was only natural since the two were connected.

Walker waited a little while worried midnight would be hurting but was instead finding her to be sleeping much better than ever. He knew that trusting a monster to have given them something safe was a ridiculous notion. However something told him that immortal king wouldn't have lied. Shaking off this strange feeling walker left midnight to her rest.

He slowly walked through the mansion thinking about what element he wanted to try out next. Should he get earth magic? He could try to use it to make earth walls for defenses. Su would be able to breath easier too. Should he try wind magic? He could speed up Gils arrows even more to pierce through the toughest defenses. He could play with fire more and get some basic fire manipulation, it would help since the colder season was upon them. Soon as the snow fell ice wraiths, yeti, frost trolls, and other snow affinity monsters would be able to travel near them. This was always a tough time for young adventurers. Winter was a completely different environment to maneuver. Many who were sure footed became clumsy where those who specialized in water and wind element magic needed to be more careful not to effect their party negatively. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝑔

While pondering these things Walker suddenly bumped in to something. Taking two steps back he realized it wasn't something but someone. "Leader shouldn't you be paying attention to where you are?" Luckily Su had steadied him.

Walker was fairly embarrassed since he knew it was his major flaw to be lost in thoughts. "Sorry about that Su I was thinking about learning more elemental magic. Would you like to go use the scroll now?" Walker wanted to push past his embarrassment and get to the main event.

"Yes, I was actually looking for you. Mother and father are waiting for me in their room. I've yet to tell them why. I just told them we had new medicine." Su didn't want to push their hopes too high in case things failed. This was a big deal, healing her mothers frail constitution would be a massive blessing.

The two headed a few doors down to find Su's mother Helena still laying in bed looking fairly pale. Frederick he father was in a chair sitting next to her. They had obviously been chatting about what kind of medicine their daughter may have and were extremely curious upon seeing walker as well.

Walker didn't waste a moment and pulled the scroll from his inventory. Su took it from him readily. "Mother, father this is a scroll that holds a single healing spell from a master healer. It should be able to heal mothers weak constitution permanently. Walker and I are going to use our mana to activate it with your permission." Su was looking at her mother worried she wouldn't allow them to since this was such a valuable item.

Helenas face was wrinkled in thought. Should she tell Su to save it for when their party was in dire need? Or should she let greed take her and let them heal her. "Use it on your mother, I know this could heal any of you from near death but I love you and Helena so much more than my own life. I'll happily sell myself to get another healing item to replace it." Frederick spoke up. He knew this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity and had decided to bet it all on it.

Helena and Su looked pained, Frederick had just offered his very life to the party in exchange. Walker knew the magnitude of this and responded first, "this scroll is not something owned by the party, I'm just holding on to it for safety. My friend Su here earned this herself and may I say she could have chosen anything. Yet she chose the one thing she cared for most in her heart. Her families well-being. I could not want someone better in my party. So there is no need for any exchange, I'm here to help my party member, no a member of my own family." Walkers words brought a tear to Helena's eye. She was so happy Su had found someone so reliable in her life. Frederick was speechless he tried to say something but the words escaped him, he could only nod his head over and over.

Su smiled wider than she ever had before, "walker let's use the scroll." Su usually called him leader but walker was happy to hear his name. Su and walker stood by Helena and opened the scroll. Each had one end in one hand as they channeled mana within it.

A green glow emanated from the open scroll and soon small glowing sparks came forth. These sparks encompassed Helena. The glow grew brighter and bright for more than ten minutes until it abruptly faded.

The scroll had vanished from their hands, completely consumed now that the spell sealed within had been used. Su looked a bit weak as she had less mana that walker and used most of it. However as they looked to Helena the changes were great. Helena who had previously been pale was now rosy cheeked and her eyes shown with energy.

Frederick saw this change and had jumped up standing in front of the bed, his desire to grab her and swing her in his harms was barely held back.

Walker knew that they would have a lot to go over so he was ready to excuse himself. "I know this is a lot to take in so I'll leave you all to rest." Before Su could stop him he left through the door. As his steps faded the sounds of excitement and crying had filled the room.

Walker was finally free to proceed with his studies. He had decided to first experiment with earth since the ground was everywhere. It was much like the same he did with water. He started by throwing a rock...nothing. Stomping the ground...nothing. Yelling earth wall in different accents...nothing.

He had the drive to try many things but felt again like a fool. The next hour of doing so made him look just as such. The sun had now risen enough to give him adequate light which was greedily absorbed by the abyssal serpent egg. 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨

After almost two hours walker threw some dust in the air "sandstorm!"

'Due to actions from the user in relation to elemental fusion skill two skills have been take .

The skill earth manipulation has been taken from the earth elemental system.

The skill wind manipulation has been taken from the sky elemental system.

Would the user like to learn the skills?'

"Y-yess!" Walker pushed pst his minor shock seeing two skills pop up.

'Skill wind manipulation has been learned.

Wind manipulation- mana 1+

Give the ability to manipulate the air. The more mana used the more the user can manipulate. This can not creat air but utilize the air in the environment.

Skill earth manipulation has been learned

Earth manipulation-mana 1+

Give the ability to manipulate the earth. The more mana used the the more the user can manipulate. This can not create earth but utilizes the earth in the environment.'

Walker was thinking, now that he had earth, wind, and water he would have to get light darkness and fire. The question was didn't he already have a darkness and a fire spell? Or what's evil consuming flame a light spell? Would he also try to manipulate time? He had a spatial magic skill too. He didn't fully understand the last two elements relation to the other six so decided to forego them for now.

Deciding to start with light and fire walker used evil consuming flame skill to create a white fireball in his hand. The theory he had come up with was that keeping it within his palm and keeping it burning he could manipulate the strength by forcing more mana in to it. To enhance this and relate it also to the darkness element he used the shadow of the mansion as his workspace.

Slowly increasing the mana would make the white flame brighter and larger chasing away the darkness of the shadows around him. However decreasing the mana the shadow would return to its normal strength. Walker could feel some heat coming off of it and was trying to ignore the slight burning feeling in his hand. He judged he had enough mana to test this for about three hours as long as he didn't use too much.

Unknown to him the abyssal egg had absorbed a significant amount of the light given off from the white flame.

The time passed and as walker noticed his mana dwindling he became a bit more reckless. Sometimes he would force the the flame so small that the shadows looked to be swallowing it and others he would push it to its limit and have the shadow almost disappear. His hands felt dry and almost brittle from the constant heat but he refused to give up. He had sweat dripping from his brow. A complex expression showed on his face as he knew only a few precious minutes remained before he'd need to stop for the day.

Finally he hit one mana remaining and completely extinguished the flame. He fell to hit butt leaning back with a huge sigh. "Soooo ttttiirreeddd!" He didn't want to move anymore he just wanted to nap in the sun that had now risen to conquer the shadows on the side of the house walker had been experimenting in.

He drifted off to sleep not even taking notice of the system in action.

'Skill darkness manipulation has been taken from the lord of the dark system

The skill light manipulation has been taken from the angels system

The skill flame manipulation has been taken from the flame elementals system.

The system has detected six elemental skills compatible with existing skill elemental fusion.

Skills have been fused:

Light manipulation, water manipulation, wind manipulation, fire manipulation, earth manipulation, darkness manipulation.

Skill grand elemental manipulation has been created and learned.

Skill grand elemental manipulation- mana 1+

User can greatly manipulate any of the six core elements: light, air, water, earth, fire, darkness. The user can not create these

elements where they do not exist.'

Walkers nap produced strange dreams of fire and water mixing to create steam. The earth burning endlessly creating lava. The wind throwing water and dust creating tornadoes and typhoons. Darkness water and earth creating poison swamps. Light, water, and air creating clouds of the heavens. So many ways for the elements to combine and natural phenomenon. For walker who was often lost in thought this dream was better than reading any book or tome. Lucky for him his dream was being recorded in his mental archive.

Subtle cracking sounds could be heard near him. Scratching and more cracking grew in volume.

Walker was awoken from his nap by something cold wrapping around his hand. Rubbing his eye with his opposite the blurry black form took shape.

A small black snake was curled around walkers left hand. It's head not even the size of a gold coin. It's black scales shimmered with a faint amount of light. It's small forked tongue flicked in and out of its mouth and its gold eyes focused on walkers face.

Walkers spun his head to where the egg was to find only shells. 𝚋𝚎ｄ𝚗ｏｖ𝚎𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖

"You hatched!" Walker let out an excited Yelp. He had been eagerly awaiting this little ones birthday. He could feel through their connection that the little black snake was cold and had decided to wrap itself in the warmest place which was walkers hand.

Walker was trying to contain his excitement as he slowly stood up. He didn't want to frighten the little abyssal serpent. However it didn't even flinch as it was comfortable being near walker. The blood contract had made a perfect connection. The serpent could feel walker intention and knew it was not in any danger. It could feel the warmth of the excitement in walker and was resting easy.

Walker went to collect the shell shards but seceded to use his skill first curious if he should just throw them out. Especially since the shell which had been black was not pure white which made him more curious.

' abyssal serpent egg shells

Once the abyssal serpent has hatched the energy within the shell is absorbed in to the newborn creature. The leftover shell can be used as a stabilizer in antidotal potions. It gives an enhancement to the potions ability to absorb poison due to its new lack in energy.'

"Huh interesting." Walker mumbled out loud while mentally scolding himself for almost throwing something important away. He picked up the shell and brought it to the alchemy lab finding a place on a shelf so that it could be used at a later date.

Walker had an extra bounce in his step as he walked inside. All this excitement was invigorating. He knew Gil was away and Remey was at the orphanage. He didn't want to interrupt Su and her family anymore today since they were celebrating Helena's healing. His father was likely still out and distracting Lisa from her work could anger her. His mother had left to deliver some breads to the guild so she could get fresh air and out of the kitchen which was understandable. Walker thought in the very least he could head to the kitchen and show the little serpent it's sister so it wouldn't be afraid of midnight when she was awake and moving about.

Upon entering the kitchen the same grey and black whisks of energy were softly flowing around midnight scales. She was breathing slowly deep in slumber. Walker lifted his hand so the little serpent could see "that's midnight, shes be your big sister. We found her in a forest and got her away from some dangerous people. She's part of the family just like you are now." As walker spoke he realized he hadn't even thought of a proper name for the little serpent. Through his connection with it he could tell it was a male which made him happy because he'd never had a little brother only two little sisters Lisa and midnight.

"Hmm a name...venom?" The serpent recoiled a bit. "That's a no...how about slithers?" More recoiling "another no...hmmm onyx?" Walker knew there was once a family with the onyx name but it had long merged with another and given up the name. The little serpent relaxed its slight coil and almost seemed to nod. Walker felt it was accepting this name. "Then onyx it is, my name is walker, that is midnight and you are onyx. Later I'll introduce you to my sister Lisa, my mother Hilda, my father Garet..." walker began rambling about everyone the little serpent would meet in the mansion. It would be a big day.

As walker chatted in the kitchen Lisa who had grown hungry having skipped lunch to keep working found him on the floor talking to his hand like a nutcase. " oh no my brother broke his mind!" Lisa was convinced Walker had gone crazy from training.

" Pfft boo I'm fine you're the crazy one locking yourself away to work. I remember when you didn't want to practice." Walkers witty response was just as an older brother should. " no I'm here talking to little onyx who just hatched today. Onyx this is my little sister Lisa, Lisa this is onyx our new little brother."

Lisa did not expect a little black snake to be curled around her brothers hand and instantly became infatuated. "He's sooooo cute and tiny!" Lisa carefully stretched a finger out to pet the top on onyx's head. Onyx rubbed his head in to her finger obviously enjoying the warmth. Him and midnight would get along very well hanging out by the oven.

Lisa had known they found an egg as walker had explained it at dinner the night prior however she did not expect it to hatch so soon. For her it was almost like it happened in the blink of an eye. " you're going to have to be a good big sister and make sure you help me show him around the mansion." Walker was just as excited but decided to let Lisa take the lead for the tour.

Springing up from the ground "I can do that! We can take a tour right now!" From that moment on the spent a whole hour touring the mansion telling onyx where everyone's rooms were and what other rooms were used for. They even visited the library which seemed to peak onyx's interest greatly. Maybe onyx was a bit like walker and craved knowledge. He had just hatched after all. Being in that dark egg for much longer than it should have before finally being able to meet the right conditions to be born in to the world. Walker made the mental decision to show onyx the world!

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventful as everyone met onyx as they returned home. Gil and his father had been the first to return and had successfully caught a wild boar for dinner.

As they had eaten Helena had thanked the party profusely, and Frederick continued to offer anything they ever needed. Su seemed to be in a radiant mood. She appeared even happier every time her mother started a conversation or spoke with emotion since it had been a rare occurrence with her previous illness. It had seemed Gil's mother and Su's mother were hitting it off as they spoke of the garden and places to relax for tea. Apparently, a gazebo would be built in the spring and a swing was also on the list.

Walker could feel onyx had become tired through their connection. He looked at onyx and wondered where he would like to sleep. Instead, as Walker was about to ask the system notified him.

'Bonded creature onyx has used shadow ink skill on the user.

Onyx has gone in to a form of slumber.'

Before his eyes onyx melted in to a black ink like liquid and absorbed in to Walker's skin. What was left was a snake like tattoo. Walker could feel onyx was asleep and thought this was a great way for onyx to remain safe and warm while he rested. Walker knew he would need to research some more about abyssal serpents on their way from the auction. He wanted to find a book shop or even attend the city library.

Since midnight would still be slumbering to absorb the condensed understanding it would work out well for the party to go to the auction. Walker had a feeling brining a young dragon to a high society event might cause some trouble.

Walker had been lost in thought too long and before he realized it everyone had finished dinner and started to head their own ways for bed. With a quick reminder to the party about the auction he followed suit.

Sleep came easily and ended just as easily, however, the morning was goi to be a bit more interesting.

' daily quest

Purchase any item to enhance your ability within the party.

Reward:

Skill pertaining to the item.'

Walker rubbed the sleep from his eyes seeing the new daily quest. The system had been silent for a few days as if giving them time to rest. Now it had finally come with something new and it was interesting.

Walker knew this was going to be the wildcard in the group since anything he chose could affect the party. However, the question was what kind of daily quest did everyone else get? Would Midnight get one while she absorbed the condensed understanding? These things could keep him theorizing for hours but sadly he could not afford to do so.

The door sounded as if it would fall from its hinges as someone pounded on the other side. "Hey Walker, you got this weird daily quest too right? Walker! Get your butt up and mean in the front hall!" Gil sounded impatient. He must have gotten a daily quest too and wasn't sure what to go with it. Not to mention I'm sure he was faced with Remey and Su as well.

Once he was dressed in his finer clothes he decided to top it off by wearing his travel medal the king gave him along with his new silver tier adventurer plaque. These would surely allow them an easier time conversing with the other guests at the auction. Knowing how nobles thought to a certain degree showing off their standing in both the guild and with the king could get them a significant amount of respect and if not that some common courtesy.

Once Walker had adorned himself as such he met the others who had definitely thought the same. Each had worn their travel medals from the king and also their plaques. They all smirked at each other knowing their smart thinking.

"So the quests, I got one saying on I need to buy an item based on my Ranger system so like do I need a new bow?" Gil couldn't wait any longer, Remey and Su had tried to calm his worry but failed. Gil had just gotten his bow and feared he would have to give it up. It was his dream now how could he trade it away.

Seeing this worry Walker knew immediately where Gil was coming from but had an answer. "No of course not, it just needs to be something related to your system right? So maybe some boots that help you sneak? Or maybe some strong arrows? It could even be new bracers time protect your arm from the bows reverb." The one key thing Gil had missed by focusing on his weapon was that there were many other aspects in his system. "That goes for you too Su, don't only focus on your shield. Remey you and I both know you could use some better armor but if not that then please nothing too crazy." Walker feared Remey would by some insane claws or metal knuckles that she wouldn't use or lacked proper skills for.

"Pfft I don't even know what you're talking about. Like I would even want to buy spikes to put on my boots..." Remey had let it slip. She could feign not wanting them but her attitude spoke the opposite. Everyone else had hope that Walker's warning would be enough. They all also feared Remey getting angry and kicking their butts with spiked boots. Not a pretty sight to imagine.

" I might still buy something for midnight if we see it but I feel like she won't care unless it's food." Walker laughed a bit sure that midnight wouldn't even be interested in the auction anyways. Yet he did know he might encounter something unique to purchase for her.

"Well not to rush everyone but how about we all head out and meet Clara to pick up our tickets at the guild. We can also ask for the results of the basement. We might just have some extra funds for the auction itself!" Walker slipped up allowing some excitement to show. As much as a peaceful morning enjoying the city could be, it seemed all they could think about would be the auction

The party drew many looks walking the streets, this time many weren't as negative as usual. Just the addition of nicer clothing and a metal was enough to change the onlookers perspective.

The guards had recognized the kings travel medal and immediately allowed the party to pass. This was proving more useful than usual since the party normally had to stop and wait for them to allow them in or out of the higher tier.

They also attracted looks from those out and about in the lower tier. The difference here though is every once in a while someone they knew with give a shout.

"Hey walker y'all headed to a fancy party!?" One guard who recognized him teased as their patrol passed.

This scene reoccurred three more times with a few craftsman and even one of his mother's friends who thought they all looked cute. Overall it was an embarrassing morning so far.

The guild came in to view and they sped up soon entering the door. Surprisingly the guild was fairly empty today. Easily finding Clara at the front counter " good morning Clara!" They all said their hellos and good mornings.

"Ah it's nice to see you here early, already dressed for the auction I see. Here are you tickets." Clara produced five tickets with inscription of the garnet family. Clara had been planning on giving them five so midnight could attend how're found midnight not to be present. " is midnight not feeling well?" Her worry evident in her voice.

"Oh no she's just sleeping away after the trip. She'll be asleep for a while longer. By the way why is it so empty in here?" At this point everyone seemed rather curious to why the lack of commotion in the usual busy guild first floor.

Clara had heard this question more than a few times today therefor the response was instant. "There's a mug merchant party that left and hired many guards. It's heading to another country so it's expected for them to get many guards to properly protect the cargo around the clock." They had all left before the sun rose this morning making for a fairly peaceful sunrise. For those that worked on paperwork today was a lucky day to get ahead and really maximize their effort.

"So on to another matter, the research and dissection division finished the evaluation. In total the equipment, weapons, monster parts, and other items were traded for a significant amount of gold. Your total within your party bank now is 3476G. Please do not get too excited tonight at the auction. I would hate to see another party loose itself in greed." Clara's advice was not unfounded it was fairly common for some parties to fall in to the trap of spending all their money as soon as they got it.

"Actually about that, can we pay using our plaque as identification? We all received a quest and will be making some purchases tonight as well as selling." Walker definitely didn't want to show off their gold by brining it with him. It would have been much too shower to use special magic over and over to pull out payments.

Clara was surprised they didn't already know, "those plaques are bound to your specific mana, if you use it as identification the auction house can accept it and the payment will be transferred from the party bank." This was a relief. One less thing to worry about. "I know it may be rude but I don't remember you having a tattoo Walker, where did it come from?" Clara was a bit worried walker had u kicked a strange skill or even worse fallen in with a sketchy group.

Walker looked down remember onyx who was still asleep. " oh would you like to meet our unofficial sixth member?" Claras eyebrows hunched up in confusion. New member? While Clara looked at his hand walker used his connection with onyx to softly nudge him awake, it would also be good for onyx to meet Clara and get used to busier streets.

The black ink started to pool up over walkers hand revealing a small black serpent wrapped around. "This is onyx an abyssal serpent that recently hatched! Onyx this is our parties manager, her name is Clara and she works here at the adventurers guild. Well come here often, it's lucky it's not too busy today so you can take a better look." Onyx's head was on a swivel, he couldn't take in the new sights fast enough but eventually focused on Clara. She was extremely smitten with the little black serpent which had miraculously appeared. This type of magic was rare for a contracted beast/monster to have. Knowing this Clara had an idea of what a manager should do.

"Ah well nice to meet you onyx, and welcome to the adventurers guild. Once you grow large enough we'll figure out a plaque for you as well. Walker, should I take it you'll need more information on how to properly raise such a creature? Also maybe more materials on dragons like Midnight?" Walker nodded his head since Clara perfectly saw his plans. "Good then as your manager I'll take a look through our archives, we gather many materials not necessarily housed within the libraries due to the guild specifically gathering them." Clara skilled triumphantly knowing she had executed a perfect move for a parties manager. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

"Yes that would be excellent, we were going to search bookstores in hopes of finding something on dragons or abyssal serpents. Now we can focus on other things." Seeing that their afternoon would be free the party started thinking on what else they may do.

They said their farewells to Clara who seemed excited to go find some different materials from the archive. It was a rare opportunity to be able to peruse the archives for something related to rare monsters. Especially dragons.

Now with the afternoon off Remey had decided to drag everyone to the orphanage, she may usually be a bit rough around the edges but since almost everyone was with her she wanted to show them off.

We passed the hours talking and playing at the orphanage. We'd stopped to get food and had a pretty nice picnic outside in the front yard. It may have been cold but the sun was still bright in the clear sky. Even son wouldn't stop the vendors in the market so why would the cold stop us from enjoying the sun?

Once our meal Had finished we headed straight to the auction house. It was within the higher tier and near the main barracks. That was another reason why the garnet family was able to gain such airtight security.

The barracks were where most of the soldiers trained and some of the higher ups held offices. Often promising young soldiers would be chosen from the classes of the academy and brought to the barracks to learn under the higher ups. They would usually be given specific weapons and guided towards certain skills. This was a frustrating point for some since not everyone system supported their option. Luck could play a huge roll. Nobels often also had a step up since they had more resources to make whatever system they unlocked viable.

Approaching a tall marble building the party was in awe. Large grey and white marble columns held up a strong stone roof. The massive wooden door was painted with gold leaves and vines. Two well dressed men stood waiting in front accepting tickets. ｂｅｄ𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.𝚌𝚘ｍ

The party climbed the ten stone steps to the entrance, " hello and welcome. May I ask to see your tickets sirs and madames?" The man to their right held an open palm awaiting their tickets. Each member of the party places them in his palm. The man pulled a small pen which glowed slightly as he marked the ticket. "Your admittance is verified, I wish you luck today. If you are just purchasing you may head forward to the main room. If you are selling you can stop at the counter." His instructions were short and sweet. The party proceeded inside.

Lush red carpets and intricate paintings lined the floors and walls. Here and there a table with refreshments waiting for someone to need them. They could see the open space with a group of people chatting. But a few feet from the room there was a woman standing in front of a counter. An older man was sitting behind the counter with man different monocles dangling from his neck.

"Hello sir, would you like to have items appraised and registered for the auction?" The woman bowed slightly as she asked in greeting.

Walker began pulling things from his spatial storage. The old man didn't even flinch while the woman was fairly surprised. "My party would like to auction these corps spider eggs as packages with these undead bones and zombie flesh. Each package is ideal for a tamer who would like to raise a corps spider or potentially a skeletal spider. Also we have some aged berry wine. We Know how old it was and we personally procured it from the ancient ruins." Walker had said the last part to see if the old man would try and attempt any tricks.

The old man shifted through four different monocles examining the eggs. Small hmmm sounds and gruff hus sounds were common yet he hadn't spoke . He then looked at the wine, walker had only taken out eight bottles. He intended to share one with the king and hold the last for an extremely important moment for the party. He wasn't sure what moment but he knew he would like only the best for his comrades.

The old man shifted through every monocle he had before scrambling in a drawer in the counter. He pulled out a gold rimmed monocle inscribed with a star pattern. The look of concentration in his eyes was permeable. Even the woman who had first spoken seemed intent on hearing the appraisal.

" the egg package starts at one hundred and fifty gold. Rare monster but expensive to grow. Hmm you are lucky some from the tamers guild are attending tonight's so well boost the price to one hundred and seventy five gold." This was the offices lucky day! The tamers guild was rather small and often known to travel. This meant it had no set base of operation. The main reason being that it's members were always hunting for ways to improve their skills, tamed beasts, and finding new monsters to tame. Occasionally the adventurers guild would have a tamer leave and join the tamers guild or have duel membership. The relation was actually very good.

The old man didn't stop there and went in to the wine. " this wine is almost too exquisite for my skills. I had trouble viewing its quality. That being said you children are very wise to sell this. I'd say it's almost two hundred and fifty years old, that's to say the aging process. A truly knowledgeable person knows wine can sit and taste the same after a hundred years until it hits the perfect time and enters the aging process. This can be from the makers mana being diffused within. Even the lowest quality wine can become perfection if the mana within has enough time to bleed from it. In this case you found wine that was once thought of as swill. However it entered its aging process and was left for an extremely long time in that state. It went from swill to elixir if I were to compare the quality now. Starting but will be...Hmm I could start at nine hundred a bottle but i believe an even one thousand is more respectable." The old man finally gave up his facade of seriousness at these last words. Walker and the party were stunned by this starting price. They had really found a treasure!

"Now before you run off my name is Avis I have an appraisal system. I may not be a master appraiser yet knowing someone such as myself is always useful. May I inquiry your party name?" The old man now introduced as Avis had seen more than just the items presented. He saw promising youths who would most likely be returning here again with more and more interesting things to sell.

Walker was glad to meet someone with such a system. He knew that his all around appraisal skill could indeed be limited as he progressed. Making a friend here could be a strong choice in the future. "Glad to meet you sir, you may if heard of us recently but we are the omnipotent party. I am the leader walker. My fellow party mates are Su, Remey, and Gil. Unfortunately our other member is currently busy and unable to attend." Walker didn't want to say sleeping, he felt that would sound insulting to the auction house.

The old man's smile became wider "ah so your the young ones causing all the commotion. I heard stories of the hero title, a dragon as a party member, and even that you've become silver rank. The last of which you show off to the world. Hmm wise indeed displaying your party status and relation to the king. Well in any case no more dawdling here. I Avis Garnet welcome you to your first auction." Avis sat back down smiling and making shooing motions with his hands to send them in their way. It had been many years since adventurers caught his eyes so much so that the woman partnered with him at the counter had never seen him act in this manner. She had never witnessed Avis welcome a single guest in the past ten years she'd worked.

The party moved on leaving the woman stunned. Avis was thinking to himself that tonight would be an interesting auction.

The main room was large and lavish. A brilliant crystal chandelier was cent of the ceiling causing rainbow light refractions to dance in the air. Some armed guards dressed in highly decorated armor waited at the walls of the need arose. In total there were a little over thirty guests. Some wore pins or clothing with family crests. Walker spotted a group of three in the corner wearing cloaks embroidered with a beast claw and whip. Those must be the tamers guild members. Walker thought he should attempt to introduce himself before the start.

As they scanned the room Gil nudged his shoulder " isn't that the guy from the castle that wanted to get rid of midnight?" Gil pointed towards a mad who was wide eyed and almost fearful.

Nodding his head Gil then wondered "why do you think he's moving so far from us? Did your skill scare him that bad?" Gil was referring to walker dragons intimidation. It definitely engraved their party name in to those members of the court and guard. However the reason Markus raven was currently staying far away was smaller and cuter.

Onyx had climbed up to walkers shoulder to get a better view, thus letting others easily see him as well. One such person who immediately took notice was Markus raven. "If I remember right Markus Raven has a fear of snakes and little Onyx here is probably the reason. Hopefully he won't act out but who knows if he'll bid against us." Walker was fortunate not to have to deal with a dramatic scene but was also worried Markus raven would go out of his way to block them from making bids. This not only could effect their quests but also damage their growing reputation.

Remey was staring at a table completely ignoring the guests along with walker and Gil. "Hey I'm taking Su we're going by to grab a snack!" Remey dragged Su to a small table. Various candy coated fruits and miniature pastries had been put out for the guests. Remey had immediately zeroed in on some tarts with red fruit that shined with sugary glaze. Gil and walker gave each other a look, at least they knew Remey wouldn't be picking a fight with someone. Su looked just as happy.

"Well while the girls bond I'm going to walk around a bit and get a feeling for the room. Maybe I'll meet someone interesting." Shrugging his shoulders Gil made his way towards a small group of people who seemed embroiled in conversation. As walker tried to listen he heard the odd sentence about arrows being auctioned off. This must be why Gil wanted to head that way.

Since he was left alone and he could feel onyx's curiosity he headed towards the tamers guild members. He was also curious. The tallest one among them was a skinny man with long pulled back black hair. His features were sharp and he wore thick gloves. The think gloves weren't normal attire so it must be related to the kind of tamed beast he had. The second member was rather short and plump man with brown and blond peppered hair. He had small mustache and seemed to be very distracted by food. The third was a slim athletic looking girl about walkers age. She had shoulder length reddish brown hair and too many freckles to count. Her emerald eyes seemed to pick apart any details, the phrase eyes like a hawk fit her well. That being said she noticed walker coming first and a flash of curiosity appeared within her eyes at the sight of onyx in his shoulder.

"Hello there, I see you're a member of the tamers guild. It's nice to see others with tamer skills tonight. My name is walker and this is my little brother onyx." The fact that he'd said, others with tamer skills, was not something the taller man missed. This basically said that the person introducing themselves as walker had a tamed beast but wasn't necessarily a tamer.

Casually extending a hand the tall man grasped walkers and gave it a shake "my name is Laurence I am the leader of this trio. The little lass to my left is Elise don't let her energetic personality offend you she doesn't mean to be rude. And well the other is Riley, I can't speak for his table manners." The man Riley didn't even look up and kept eating, conversation didn't even interest him in the slightest. On the contrary Elise walked a full circle around walker and closely took a look at onyx. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝑡

"Baby little snake there huh? It's cute but it could easily get eaten by birds. Are you sure it's ok to have the little fella out? What species is he? Does he have venom? How big will he get?" The bombardment of questions was too much to answer at much and if Laurence hadn't given a warning Walker may have taken it as rude.

Laurence grabbed Elise's shoulder stopping her a moment. She made an angry scrunched up face at Laurence for ruining her analysis. Walker took this opportunity to reply to some questions. " Onyx is an abyssal serpent, I don't worry about his safety if need be he can hide on my skin as a tattoo. And for his venom...well let me check" Walker looked within the system only to find something surprising.

' onyx 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨

Abyssal serpent hatchling

Level 0

System locked

Stats locked

Abyssal serpent hatchlings must enter growth stage to gain access'

"Ah yes he needs to grow a bit more before I can tell his characteristics. Well that's fine I am procuring some books on his species soon so that should help." Walker was a bit disappointed but also half expected onyx to need more time before being able to use a system. It was interesting considering that onyx had used his skill to become a tattoo. Thinking on it walker believed it was a natural born skill to protect itself while vulnerable and small.

"Awwwee that's not fun, but at least you know he'll be little and cute for a little bit." Elise was all smiles as she held a finger to onyx. Onyx was studying this new person intently also studying. While the two gave each other the once over walker continued speaking to Laurence.

"I'm sad to say my little sister and the final member of my party couldn't attend since she's busy. I'm sure you three would have found her much more interesting since she's a cross breed dragon." Walker knew these words would hook them and maybe even give them time outside of the auction to speak. If walker could make connections with the tamers guild he could learn some insider secrets on how to properly assist in the growth of midnight and onyx.

Laurence was wearing a perfect poker face but was dumbfounded in the inside. He'd only met a tamer once with a dragon as their tamed beast and they were considered top ten in the guild. "Ohhh a dragon you say? Would this be the same one we heard rumors about? The heroic dragon?" Laurence had been in the city for three days and purposefully spent time dining in different pubs and eateries to listen to the current gossip.

This was impressive, not everyone who entered a new town or city would take the time to learn of the current gossip. "In that you would be right, my party all hold the hero titles. However that's not as interesting as our recent endeavors. Would you like to know? The adventurers guild had yet to release the report of our test to rank up to silver tier." This was the clincher, walker had set the bait by mentioning midnight and now would finish it by giving true three the first information on the ten packages of corpse spider eggs. Not only would this entice them to bid but it would also give them a step up to plan a strategy to acquire them. Not to mention adding to their new friendship.

Laurence saw this ploy but knew it held merits for him if walker was offering this information. He'd decided to take the bait and see where it lead. "That does sound rather interesting, we'd gladly welcome some new stories."

"Well my party chose the ancient ruins, and while there we were fairly lucky to encounter a small nest of corpse spiders. One of which was female, otherwise known as a skeletal spider. After dealing with the adults we found a clutch of eggs. Luckily we also had defeated zombies and skeletons. With those in addition to the eggs we were able to place a package of some zombie flesh, undead bones, and a single corpse spider egg in to the auction. Actually ten of them to be specific." Walker was intently watching Laurence's face to see the effect. His poker face was perfect and didn't show anything however walker could still feel a slight excitement in the air.

"That's rather interesting indeed, I did come here tonight in hopes of finding some gear that may benefit my training style. However finding rarer monsters to tame may work in our favor as well. If you don't mind I would like to discuss something with my little trio. To make up for cutting the conversation short we wouldn't mind meeting again. We are in the city for another week." Laurence knew stopping now was smarter so he could get Elise and Riley in the same page but did worry this would push Walker away.

Walker however was happy to hear this, they definitely were going to be bidding in the corpse spider eggs. This was well worth it. " if that's the case I take no offense at all, if you ask around I'm sure you'll find out mansion. You three are more than welcome to come to dinner one night." It was a bit sly inviting them to dinner to steal some tips but he knew they'd be too interested in midnight not to visit before they left the city.

" yes well gladly visit, our business should allow us free time tomorrow. It was very nice to meet a new friend with tamer skills." Laurence Layered it on a bit thick but was eager to see another dragon and couldn't refuse.

Elise had perked up listening about the spiders and even more so about going to the party's mansion. " yes it was nice to meet you onyx, walker. I can't wait to meet your little sister. I'll bring my Stella for you to meet as well." She smiled knowing Walker would wonder who Stella was but walker had already deduced it was an avian type of tamed beast due to her personality.

Riley had glanced up to look at walkers face at the mention of dinner but returned to eating. At least he had taken the moment to listen. With his goodbyes said and plans made walker headed towards Gil who had found an open cocktail table to lean on. "You look happy after meeting those tamers" Gil could see that everything went well.

"Oh you know just shared some gossip about corpse spiders at the auction. They were here looking for gear but after hearing that gossip needed to talk privately. Did you hear anything good about arrows?" Walker knew Gil would only have stopped roaming if he'd found what he was after.

"Ha Ha yea you got me, there's a few arrow packages up for auction. One specifically made so the arrow is faster. I'm interested in that one specifically. There's an ice arrow as well but it will take a lot of mana to activate properly and I don't think it's worth it." An arrow made to move faster coupled with Gils wind element was a dangerous idea. The ice arrow however sounded like a major hinderance. Walker nodded in agreement noticing that chairs were being brought out by attendants. The stage at the far end of the room had a table placed on it and was being prepared for the auction to start.

Seeing that things were about to start Remey and Su found walker and Gil. They watched as rows of red hooks tweed chairs were brought out along with a table of bidding cards. As the party leader walker headed up and accepted his bidding card. Their number would be 6. All he would have to do is raise his card and the bid would be made off the set increment, if he desires more he could shout a price.

The guests all took their seats, walker noticed Markus raven at the farthest possible seat, and Inwardly chuckled. The tamers had sat two rows ahead of them but Walker noticed Elise glance at them with a smile. This was a good sign for them.

The room started to quiet down as a tall woman in a flowing white dress took the stage. Her presence demanded attention. This woman was most definitely the one that would be selling the items today.

"Hello and welcome to our esteemed auction house of the garnet family. We are truly blessed to welcome you all here. Tonight we have some very interesting items. We shall begin with the sunburning sword at a price of nine hundred gold. This sword was crafted by a high sword smith. It has the ability to channel sunlight in to flames. We shall now commence the bidding..." walker let her voice fade out not interested in the item at all. He would have been the only one to use it in the party anyways. Remey, Su, and Gil definitely didn't bat an eye at the sword either. Instead they watched as other guests raised their numbers in competition for each offer increasing by a hundred gold.

After about five minutes an older man with a thin sword insignia on his shirt was bidding against a retired looking soldier. The final price before the retired looking soldier gave up was one thousand seven hundred gold. This was a marginal increase for the seller.

Walker saw the soldier smirking however, a thought occurred to him. Did this man sell the sword then bid on it to raise its price? How sneaky. Walker knew he couldn't use this strategy on the corpse spider eggs because he'd made it known to the tamers they came from his party. Yet he did not tell anyone about the eight bottles of wine he'd placed in the auction. A sneaky smile had grown on his lips as another item was brought forth.

" This item is a special item crafted from withering wood. These arrow shafts have a stronger breaking point but lighter weight. This allows them to travel faster than your average arrow. This is a must buy for any who uses a bow. The starting bid for a bundle of one hundred shall be two hundred gold." This was not a bad deal, arrows were often cheap since many materials could be used. The nice part about these is Gil would be able to place any arrow head he desired on to these arrow shafts.

"Let the bidding begin!" The woman looked through the crowd.

"Number nine two hundred gold"

She quickly glanced to the side

"Number four two twenty five!"

"Number six two fifty"

Walker entered the fray his bid jumping in. Seeing that the increment was only for twenty five gold he realized that the overall starting bid affected the growth per bid. This was a valuable lesson.

"Number nine two seventy five"

Gil glanced at walker worried but also excited.

"Number six three hundred!"

The man holding the number nine hesitated. It didn't appear these arrow shafts were his priority.

"Once...twice...and three times it's sold to number six! You can retrieve your items at the counter as you leave! Congratulations!"

Gil wanted to rush away that second to collect them but knew the others were still looking for their very own items.

"We have a special item next, the same craftsman that created the previous arrows has also prepared a bundle of stabbing ice arrows. These arrows are engraved with rare ice magic. Upon contact, the arrow head explodes in to ice spikes causing heavy damage. The starting bid for this bundle of fifty is three hundred gold! Let the bidding begin!"

These were much more expensive and Walker counted himself lucky that Gil had seen the drawbacks. Remey and Su looked at walker half expecting him to bid but relaxed when he shook his head. They trusted his judgment and Gil also had shaken his head solidifying their choice.

The man who had been bidding for the first set of arrows was heavily betting on these arrows. This must be his true goal. Perhaps he was a magical bowman. They were a rarer system but they needed arrows just like these stabbing ice arrows. The only reason walker knew this was his father had met a man with such a system while working and shared the story with Walker.

"Sold! Five hundred and seventy five gold!"

The price was much too expensive the Pfft breathed a sigh of relief knowing they could have spent all their money if they'd chose wrong.

"Our next item is one meant for those in the front line! These fleeting arm guards are made of fairy iron! They have the ability to enhance speed and the strength to block attacks!"

Walker glanced at Su and Remey, if either wanted these arm guards it would be perfect. Su lacked in the agility department and always liked to enhance her defenses. However, Remey needed the speed to dive or properly block attacks since she wouldn't always have Su to block for her. The arm guards had a strange silver hue to them and the attendant carrying them out could have been said to be holding feathers.

"The starting bid is two hundred and fifty gold. Let the bidding begin!"

Walker felt Su tug in his arm, that was all the signal he needed.

"Number six two fifty"

A moment passed and they thought no one would oppose them however they saw a hand raise.

"Number thirteen two seventy five!"

Walker immediately countered.

"Number six three hundred"

"Number twenty three fifty"

Now two people were fighting them for the guards!

"Number six four hundred!"

The anticipation was too much as Walker waited for the count. Su squeezed his sleeve tightly wanting to lock down the arm guards.

" once...twice...three times sold to number six for four hundred gold. Congratulations!"

Su breathed out a heavy sigh, "this is too stressful" walker couldn't agree more. But that was an easier bid then expected. The last bid seemed to be someone trying to push the price up but walker let it roll off. He told himself to keep a level head if his emotions ran wild he could loose his opportunity.

They had gained two out of four items. Now walker had his eye out for Remey and himself. He also had hope he'd see something for midnight. A few pieces of armor and weapons sold but nothing that struck them as worth having. However just as they feared they would see anything a bright blue necklace was brought in stage.

"This is a special item with a very unique effect. It's called the magic reflection pendent and it was brought from a wandering trader. It is one of three we will be selling tonight. It has the ability to reflect weak magic spells and reduce damage of strong spells. This item could keep any from an unfortunate end. The starting price will be five hundred gold!"

Walker knew Remey had the lowest magic defense in the party and so did she. The second the woman in the white dress finished he explanation the two had already had a silent conversation with their eyes. This was the pendant Remey wanted. Since there would be three up for auction tonight walker decided to put up an intimidating bid.

"Let the bidding begin."

Walker raised his number in the air and shouted loudly "six hundred gold!" This was the first shouted bid of the night and everyone saw that this would be a tough fight. Knowing there were two more to be sold next those who walker had scared off rested easy. Those who had planned to bid decided to hold off so that they wouldn't be stuck with a hugely driven up price. Miraculously this left walker unopposed.

"Once...twice...three time it's sold for six hundred gold to number six. Your lucky day congratulations."

The woman appeared a bit unhappy seeing the others scared off but knew she could lure them to spend more on the other two. As she had the next pendant brought out the bidding became furious as others refused to let this one slip away.

Meanwhile walker smiled to himself. "That was a bold move but I'm glad you got me that pendant. It will definitely help me make it home to tell everyone stories." Remey was a bit embarrassed but she was impressed walker had shown more courage to scare off others immediately. As their parties leader he had gained a great amount of respect in that instance. Walkers smile turned in to a full grin, between Remeys words and see that the last pendant sold for almost double the price he paid he knew he made the right move.

Next was an item they had been waiting for,

" next we have ten sets of a very unique item. If there are tamers or those buying for tamers you should seriously consider this item. We have a package deal, you will be bidding on zombie flesh, undead bones, and a corpse spider egg. The seller painstakingly prepared these packages so you would have everything the hatchling corpse spider needed to grow. Each package will start at one hundred and seventy five gold. Let the bidding begin!"

Laurence immediately stood up. " three hundred gold!"

This was unprecedented, three hundred gold with much much higher than the starting price. Not only this but by standing Laurence was telling everyone that he would not stop bidding until he won. Not a single person dared to oppose them. Seeing the tamers guild insignia on their cloaks the guests knew they would be bidding against a strong opponent with much deeper pockets. Naturally Laurence was not opposed and won the first package easily. The second however Riley stood up and offered the same price. This was a great surprise since he'd yet to speak.

Again there was no opposition. Another package bought up by the tamers. Come the third Elise stood up offering the same price yet again. The guests were now just completely shaken three tamers in a row issuing a challenge. Walker had known that the corpse spider could make a valuable asset to a tamer with its venom and threads to poison and trap enemies. His underestimation came with the potential that it would be female. If it was a skeletal spider the defensive strength alone could make it an ideal bodyguard. Add on the fact that multiple corpse spider meant breeding potential it was a no brainer for the tamer guild to want ever single egg.

The guests believed that after the third tamer had acquired their package that they may have a chance. These important families had connections in the military and other royalty that would be in their debt to receive a monster such as the corpse spider to tame. However once the fourth package was announce all three tamers stood up. Laurence offered again the same price. This time however instead of saying they were bidding they said "we bid on behalf of the tamers guild" at this the other guests felt robbed. If they had known the tamers first three bids had been from their own pockets they could have our bid them!

This sneaky strategy had swept the floor with every single corpse spider egg. To say the least the party was overjoyed. They had just managed to gain three thousand gold. They hadn't even seen their aged berry whine sell yet.

After the last package sold Laurence gave a polite nod to the party before sitting. Elise was visibly excited, it was sure to be tough for her to sit through the remainder of the auction. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

"Those corpse spider eggs are a rare item to follow so we hope everyone is ready for the next. Here we have a pair of moon crystal earrings. These may seem strange but I promise they are more than meets the eye. Brought from the elven kingdom and crafter under the light of a full moon these earring enhance ones perception. The starting bid will be four hundred gold! Let the bidding begin!"

Increase perception? Walker wasn't sure what this would mean and immediately used his all around appraisal skill to get more information.

'Moon crystal earrings

Enhances the five major senses to better understand the environment. Opens the path to developing spiritual sense.'

Spiritual sense? Walker had heard this before when speaking to those involved with the church. Often those who had light affinity and skills involving healing would speak of spiritual senses. Walker was curious if studying spiritual sense would increase his healing and buffing skills.

The basic enhancement of the five sense alone was something that could help him remain vigilant while in any situation. Unit to mention as a leader his decisions could hold his party members lives. It may not have been a flashy piece of equipment but it could enhance walkers decision making ability and potentially other skills in the future. It was time for him to bid on it.

"Number 27 four hundred gold"

Walker held back a little this time knowing some guests would be anxious to bid.

"Number two four fifty!"

"Number one five hundred"

The fighting had escalated and soon the price hit six hundred gold. It seemed guests were bidding not for the item but to show force.

"Number six six fifty gold"

Walker had waited to see the bids slow down to make his move.

"Once...twice...number seven for six seventy five"

Someone had tried to jump in last second. The man holding seven was Markus raven. He looked much too happy to be pushing the price higher on the party. This was his small revenge for the embarrassment in front of the king. Walker wasn't ready to let him win.

"Number six seven hundred gold."

"Number seven seven twenty five"

"Number six seven fifty!"

This looked to be the moment Markus raven was smiling with glee at how much higher he had pushed the price. He didn't know that the party had just gained three thousand gold and no longer were in dire need for gold. Not to mention there were still times to be sold.

"Once...twice...three times sold for seven hundred and fifty gold to number six congratulations!"

Walker had spent more than he wanted but had pulled it off. He passed a relieved look at the others who were a bit confused and worried. They did not expect Markus raven to challenge them let alone walker to answer. This item must have significant value to walker. Gil in particular took not of how useful it would be while hunting to have improved senses and based his understanding from that. It seemed expensive but he believed walker would make it priceless.

"Our next item is extremely valuable and rare. These aged berry wine were pried from the depths of the encumbrance ruins. They have been through an aging process of nearly two hundred and fifty years. The quality was even a challenge for our appraiser. If you enjoy quality this is your item tonight! We will be auctioning eight bottles individually. Each will be starting at an even one thousand gold! Let the bidding begin!"

Not a single person bid immediately. One thousand gold for a bottle of wine? Aged for two hundred and fifty years? Each bottle would be over that age just to reach a proper aging process. The high society nobles in the room knew that this was an extremely high quality wine. Only the most elite would be able to afford and share this.

The tamers were not interested in this whatsoever and were visibly bored. However most of those in the front rows were looking to their aids. It was a calm before a storm, the first person bid and on came the storm. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑐𝑜𝘮

"Number seven one thousand"

"Number two one one hundred"

"Number nine one two hundred"

The bids came in to a flurry soon racking up to a full two thousand! More than half those that started bidding in the first rush had bowed out in the first bottle. There were seven left and the party couldn't even imagine what would happen with those.

"Number seven two thousand two hundred gold"

Walker saw an opportunity and decided to gamble.

"Number six two thousand three hundred gold"

Markus raven immediately shot death glares at walker. In his anger he immediately responded.

"Number seven two thousand four hundred gold."

With that little jab at Markus raven walker didn't bid again. He simply pushed the price up an extra hundred to make a point. Markus knew this and instead of a happy face he showed an ugly rage as he was announced the winner. One hundred gold was nothing to him but it was the principal.

Walker didn't dare to push the price up again after the first bottle. Markus raven had been aggravated and now threw bids at every bottle. This act alone won him two more bottles but also drove up the price for everyone else. Walkers one gamble greatly paid off in raising the price of every single bottle. This gave them a grand total of twenty two thousand gold for the eight bottle combined. They were officially rich!

Remey and Gil had done the math in their heads and had begun sweating. How could such a sum of money even be possible? They never imagined that one day they could swim in gold if they were wanting. Su naturally was more resolved and silently freaking out while maintaining her poker face. Walker was all smiles. He felt accomplished from their first auction.

While they calmed themselves and accepted the large sum of money they were to be paid the auction continued. Some paintings and other art pieces sold along with some weapons and armor that walker found unimportant. However the woman presented a package of ten light crystals causing onyx to stir on walkers shoulder. These may be the next things he needed to bid on. Since abyssal serpents consumed light it would make sense onyx wanted the light crystals. Light crystals were basically concentrated light element. These could easily assist in breaking through to his growth phase. If so walker might just need to put in more muscle so he could keep onyx in his shoulder.