It took them only a short amount of time to get back to the outpost with the pace they were walking at.
Kurose had spent his time walking, deciding which of the several new weapon forms to unlock first before eventually deciding on the scale necklace.
Just because he knew how he was supposed to act in fights as the accessory hero didn't mean he didn't want some options for self-defense. It wasn't like he could have counters on every weapon form to protect him. Not unless he somehow got access to Refashion, but it's not like that was going to happen magically.
With a sigh, he swapped to the scale necklace, before speaking up.
"Did you get any interesting weapon forms from the Fangyut, Eorna?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I got a skill from the…" She trailed off, looking at what Kurose could only assume to be her weapon forms for a moment before resuming. "...Fangyut Claw Dagger. It's called Pierce. Look at it!" She switched to the weapon form, and Kurose did as she asked.
Looking at it, he could see that the blade of the dagger itself was a singular claw from the Fangyut, but it seemed to grow smaller towards the end as if it was made for piercing weak points in armor.
Other than the blade itself, there wasn't anything else odd about the weapon form itself. The handle itself was the same as any of the other weapon forms that she had shown him.
"So, it's probably good against monsters with high defense, right?" Kurose asked.
"Yup! That's what I was thinking as well!" She spoke with a smile."Though, I can't imagine anything I could use it on…" She added on.
"Well, either way, it will probably find a use. Maybe." Kurose spoke with a shrug.
"I guess you're right. I'm still going to master it anyway."
Kurose nodded his head at that as Sigun spoke up.
"So… the waves tomorrow, right?" He asked curiously.
"Hm, yeah, it is, why?" Eorna responded quickly.
"Well, I was just wondering, do you think you're strong enough? I know you've been leveling like hell, but are levels actually enough to just beat the waves?"
"I think we are strong enough!" Eorna spoke with a grin. "I mean, we've doubled our levels pretty much, I've got more skills, and so has Kurose, plus we have more equip bonuses now. This wave should be much easier than the last. So, yeah. I think that we are going to be strong enough."
Kurose wasn't sure if absolutely agreed with it. He thought that they might stand a bit of a chance during the wave, but considering how much they struggled during the last wave?
Even as he thought about it, Sigun nodded his head at that, seeming to think it over as Osvien spoke up.
"Well, I have full faith that you both will do fantastic in the wave! Plus, we are going to be there as well, so we can help out."
"I forgot about that. Are you going to be a part of one of the squads, or…" he trailed off, waiting for his response.
"Well, I'm fairly certain we are going to be in your party, but then again, there would be seven people in that case…" He trailed off at that, and Kurose could see the issue there.
"I guess we will just have to ask Matthias." Kurose spoke, earning a nod from Osvien.
"Yes, I suppose we will." Osvien agreed.
It wasn't long after that the gates to the outpost came into sight.
"Heroes, welcome back!" A guard called down to them. He didn't wait a moment before turning around, and shouting. "Open the gates!"
Once the gates were open, the group moved in quickly, thanking the guards before moving on.
"So, any idea where Matthias could be?" Kurose asked after a few moments.
"Nope, not a clue." "No idea." "Nope!"
Those were the three responses he got, causing him to sigh.
"He did say he would be sorting out the groups and all that, right?" Sigun asked. Kurose nodded in confirmation, and Sigun continued. "Then wouldn't it make sense that he would be in wherever the meeting room for this place is?"
"That's true, but wouldn't you two know where it is? You are both knights after all."
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call us knights. That's more specialized, you know?" Sigun spoke with a small smile.
"He's right. We are more like… I guess you could say reserve soldiers? We don't really do much, just assist where we can when it's needed. It's nothing special." Osvien added on. "But to answer your question, since we haven't actually been here before, we don't."
"I see, so we are probably just going to have to ask around?" Kurose questioned, earning a nod from both Sigun and Osvien.
He let out a sigh but nodded his head. "Alright, let's go to it then."
As it turned out, most of the people stationed at the outpost were more than willing to help out any heroes who needed it.
The first guard that Eorna asked guided them to the room they had last seen the captain and Matthias enter.
"Here we are, Accessory Hero, Dagger Hero." He spoke with a smile, bowing as he did.
"Thanks for the help!" Eorna spoke with a smile.
"It was no problem, Heroes. Now, if you do not mind, I have my duties to get back to." With another bow, he set off, leaving the group of five in front of the door.
Before Kurose could say anything, Eorna knocked on the door, and almost immediately, it opened.
"Ah, Matthias, you came back I-" The captain paused, looking at them before speaking again. "You aren't Matthias."
"Uh, no, we aren't," Eorna confirmed. "We were actually looking for Matthias, have you seen him?"
"Unfortunately not since…" He would pause to think. "About ten minutes ago actually. We… had a small disagreement about something, and he stormed off."
"Eh? That doesn't sound like Matthias at all!" Eorna spoke in surprise.
Kurose had to agree with her there. Matthias didn't seem like the type of person to storm off for no reason.
"Normally he isn't." The captain agreed. "It's just that what we spoke of was on a more… personal level, let's say."
"Oh, okay." Eorna spoke, nodding her head in understanding.
It did make Kurose think, just how much of what he had seen of Matthias was just some sort of persona? He always acted tough in front of him and Eorna, so just what had they been talking about? The only thing Kurose could think of would be talking about his past.
Considering the last few times anyone had talked about the Kohuandaval or anything that might be related to it, it was the only option he could think of.
"Do you know where he went?" he asked the captain, instead of doing what he wanted and asking about what they had talked about.
His response was a simple shake of his head. "With that portal skill, he could be anywhere, unfortunately. But before you do go searching for him, would you mind if I introduced you to the squad leaders who will be accompanying you both?"
Kurose looked at Eorna before nodding his head. "Sure, please lead the way."
They were quickly led into a small room, sitting across from the captain and two other men. Sigun and Osvien stood behind Kurose and Eorna, whilst Firnen was wrapped around Kurose's shoulder.
"Heroes, it is a pleasure to meet you." The man to the left of the captain spoke, lowering his head.
The lady on the right seemed to share the sentiment, lowering her head as well.
"It's nice to meet the both of you as well," Kurose spoke politely, a smile on his face. "May I ask who is with who, for the wave?"
"Of course." The captain confirmed, before gesturing to the lady. "Miss Izlandi here will be with you, Accessory Hero, whilst Mr Evandar will be with you, Dagger Hero."
"I see. So, what is the actual plan for the wave?" Kurose asked. "I mean, are we going to be telling them what to do, or are they going to be relaying information to everyone else?"
"Allow me to explain, Accessory Hero," Evandar spoke. "Our main goal is to secure the surrounding area. Namely, any villages or cities that may be affected by the wave. This will obviously depend on the location of where it is happening."
"Yes, as Evandar said, our main focus is protecting the citizens, but if there are no citizens to protect, then all of our forces will be following the heroes into combat against the wave. We would be taking care of the smaller monsters whilst you heroes would focus on making it towards the boss." Izlandi added on.
Kurose nodded his head at that in understanding, but Eorna spoke up.
"How many soldiers are there?" She asked curiously.
The captain seemed to grimace slightly before speaking. "There is… admittedly less than we would have liked. We have a total of 500 soldiers under our direct control, all of which are loyal to the crown. Though, it is not our nation's full military strength."
"Eh? Then where are the rest?" Eorna questioned him.
"Other parts of the army are filled in by the various lords in our country. They usually have an obligation to lend us their armies in times of conflict, but a majority of them are being… irritating. They demand funding as well as other privileges that they know they can bargain for due to the status of the waves."
"Really? Even with all of this going on, they still want more?" Kurose asked in shock.
"Indeed." The captain agreed. "A majority of them seek to only fulfill their own desires. However, we do have a few nobles willing to side with us, along with the largest nobles' army on our side, though she is currently unavailable. She had warned us of this beforehand though."
"What is she doing that involves using her own army?" Kurose asked. "And what's happening with the other nobles who you said are helping for free?"
"She has recently taken them on a training exercise in her lands. She leads it herself, and these training exercises last a few weeks at the least. The soldiers she brings to the table are more than worth the wait, however. As for the other nobles, some have similar reasons, whilst others are quite a distance away. They will not be able to make it here before the wave."
"I see. Did she ask for anything unreasonable?"
"No actually. She has been one of Matthias's strongest supporters since he ascended to the throne. I myself have only had the chance to talk to her twice, but she is fiercely loyal. I still do not understand why, but as I said, it is worth the wait for those troops."
"Understood. Did she say how long she was going to be?"
"She has said that she would be able to join us in time for the fourth wave, once Matthias told us of the times."
"So, she will be here for the Brightsteel empire wave. Got it. Is there anything else we need to talk about?"
"I do not believe s-" He cut himself off. "Actually, the only thing we need to do is let you add everyone to your formation. I'm not exactly sure how you would do that, so I will have to ask you to sort that out, Accessory Hero, Dagger Hero."
"Oh, yeah, right. Just let me…" Kurose trailed off as he opened up the battle formations menu, looking through it.
It seemed like he could choose a formation leader, so he set it to Izlandi. The formation was set up as Kurose himself was the party leader, followed by Eorna then Firnen, Osvien, and Sigun. There wasn't any specific reasoning for the order, he just added them.
After a few more moments of messing around with the settings, he set Evandar as the secondary squad leader and gave them both authority over who could be added or removed from the formation, besides the five of them he had put above them.
The two squad leaders before him nodded their heads. "I see. This is certainly unique, but with this, it should be easier to respond to the waves. Thank you for your assistance." Evandar spoke politely.
"What about you?" Eorna asked, looking at the captain.
He simply shook his head. "I'm afraid I won't be joining your formations. I will be with Matthias as far as I'm aware. He has been slowly reaching out to his old party members, though I'm not certain where they all are. It has been a while, after all…" He let out a small sigh, shaking his head.
"I believe I have kept you here long enough. Please, enjoy the rest of your day, and prepare yourselves for tomorrow."
"We will. See you tomorrow." Kurose spoke, bowing. Eorna followed suit before the group walked out of the room.
Once they were gone, Evandar turned to Izlandi. "They seemed like nice people."
"Indeed they did. Though, I do wonder how they fight…" Izlandi seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking her head. "That doesn't matter as much I suppose. Come, let's get our soldiers into the formation, shall we?"
"Yes. We will come back once we are done, Captain Euge."
"Of course. Take your time." Euge spoke, dismissing them.
Once they were gone as well, Euge let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I do wonder where everyone is these days." He spoke quietly. "It has been quite a while since we have all gathered…"
As the group of five made to leave the building, the door opened, revealing Matthias. He blinked in shock before speaking.
"You are all back?" He asked quickly.
"We are, your Majesty," Sigun responded with a nod.
"Alright…" He looked over to Kurose, noticing the bandage wrapped around his arm. "Are you alright Kurose? I saw your health go down, and I was concerned."
"I… have been doing better, but it's fine. We killed it." Kurose spoke with a nod.
"And what was it?" Matthias asked for clarification, reaching into his pockets as he asked.
"Oh, it was a Fangyut!" Eorna spoke with a smile.
Matthias let out a choked noise, almost dropping whatever he was taking out of his pocket. "A Fangyut? Didn't I say not to go so deep into the mountain?" He turned towards Osvien and Sigun. "Weren't you two supposed to make sure that they di-"
Kurose cut Matthias off, waving his hands slightly. "It's not their fault!" He explained quickly.
"They were focused on fighting some Farkas, and I kind of… just snuck off to follow something I saw."
"You didn't tell us you were following something," Sigun said quickly, turning to face Kurose.
Before he could start speaking, a voice spoke up behind him.
"Um, excuse us. Could we get through please?" Izlandi spoke up.
"Oh, um sorry. Can we take this outside?" Kurose asked. Matthias simply nodded at that, with everyone stepping out.
"Sorry for interrupting your conversation, Accessory hero, you Majesty. We will see you tomorrow."
"Yes, yes. See you tomorrow." Matthias spoke, waving them off. Kurose didn't miss the way that Evandar seemed to look at Matthias with emotions he couldn't recognize, but he didn't push for any answer.
Once the two squad leaders left, Kurose continued from where he had left off.
"Right, so, when I left you three-" Kurose was cut off again by Sigun.
"You mean when you snuck off."
"Yes, when I snuck away, it was because there was a strange-looking monster."
"Strange looking how?" Matthias questioned.
"It had… I'm not sure exactly, but it had a ton of eyes, and it seemed like they were mirrored on each side of its face. It also had yellowish skin. Oh, it also had multicolored wings."
"Hmm…" Matthias thought about it for a moment, even as he opened up his palm. "Oh, take this real quick, you remember how to use it, right?"
Kurose looked into his hand, taking the healing crystal with a nod. He quickly crushed it, letting out a small sigh of relief as he did. His side felt immediately better, and his arm felt less sore. However, it still wasn't enough to fully top off his health.
"That creature you saw, I have absolutely no idea what it was," Matthias spoke with a shrug.
"None?" Kurose probed.
"Nope, none at all. Do you three have any idea?"
Matthias got similar answers from the trio, shaking his head as he did. "I can ask some of the servants to look through the library in the castle, see if they can find anything in it, but it is doubtful. As far as I'm aware, it's mainly history related to the founding of the country and such."
"Still, anything would be better than nothing. Oh, I also forgot to mention. It… It spoke into my mind?" Kurose spoke slowly.
"...What do you mean it spoke into your mind?" Eorna asked after a short pause.
"Well, it just kinda started speaking? It used a friend's voice from my world, and basically asked if I think my strength will be enough going forward."
"...I don't think I have ever heard of a creature like that…" Matthias spoke. He looked troubled as he said that, before shaking his head. "It's fine though. Let's just push this to the side for now. Like I said, I can ask a few people to research anything like that, but back to the Fangyut. It can't have been a full-grown one, right?"
"Well… what's different with a full-grown one?"
"Well, they can fly first off, whilst younger ones can only use their wings to dash forward. They can also carve through rock and stone with their claws with no problem, which makes them an absolute menace to the dwarves."
"Well, then I think I can say it wasn't an adult then. Considering its claws caught my side, and if the adult claws are as sharp as you said, I probably wouldn't be standing here."
Matthias nodded at that, staring at his side for a moment. "Yeah, but still. Fighting a Fangyut is nothing to scoff at, even if it is a younger one. You should be proud of yourself."
"Well, if it was just me, I would have died," Kurose admitted. "I only managed to stall it out until Eorna arrived to kill it."
"Only because of that hairpin skill!" Eorna reminded him
"Still, it doesn't matter if you killed it or not. It still stands that you managed to survive the attacks of a Fangyut, that should prove you are doing good. Could you from a few days ago stand against that?"
"I-" Kurose hesitated, and Matthias took it from there.
"You couldn't. You were both struggling against the wave and now you are taking out those annoying things. Trust me when I say you are growing strong enough at a good pace."
"Yeah, but still. Is it actually going to be enough?" Kurose asked with concern.
Matthias looked at him for a moment before speaking once more. "That's the thing. You won't know if it's enough until you actually have to deal with it. You could absolutely spend your whole life wondering if what you have done is ever enough. Whether the things you are doing right now will actually be worth anything in the future. But that doesn't matter. What matters is the now and here. As it currently stands? Yes, it is enough for right now."
Eorna thought it over as Kurose nodded. "I…Okay, I'm just…"
"Just what? Concerned? Scared of the waves?"
"Both." He responded.
"That's a reasonable reaction. I would be much more concerned if you weren't scared or concerned about them. But you have people you can rely on, you have people who want to help you, so it will be fine."
Kurose nodded again, and Matthias let out a sigh.
"Right, let's head back, shall we?"
He looked at everyone, receiving a nod from them all before raising his weapon and activating his portal skill.
Once they were back at the castle, Matthias wasted no time in gathering a few servants, each of them being able to read.
"Right. So, I have something that I want you all to do. Kurose here…" He gestured towards Kurose before continuing. "Is going to describe a monster to you that he found whilst exploring, and I want you to see if you can find any mention of it in the library, is that understood?"
The servants all nodded, and Matthias nodded toward Kurose, who began to describe the monster as he did to Matthias.
After a few moments, the servants all seemed to speak with each other, but Matthias interrupted them, speaking up again.
"Like I said. I would like for you to check it out. Don't worry about not being able to find anything, there will be no punishments or anything if you fail to find information. There might be rewards if you find anything helpful, but again, I cannot, and I cannot stress this enough, cannot guarantee that there will be a reward if you do find something."
The servants all seemed to nod at that, before slowly filtering out towards where Kurose hoped the library was.
After a few moments, Matthias would let out a sigh. "Right, now that we have got other people looking for information, we should hopefully find something. But like I said, I can't guarantee it. If we don't find anything by the brightsteel wave, then I will have to ask for access to the dwarven libraries again."
"I see. I'm assuming you would like us to help?" Kurose asked curiously.
"Yeah, it would certainly make everything easier."
Kurose bit his tongue, but Eorna spoke up. "There's an issue with that."
"Hm? What's the issue?" He asked.
"Kurose can't read."
He spun to face Kurose, blinking. "You can't?"
"Not the writing here at least. Back home, I can read, but different language, a different system for writing, all that."
"Ah, yeah, I forgot about that. I just assumed you could read. Forgot that the weapons translate everything and all that."
Matthias tapped his foot on the floor before speaking again. "Hmm, guess we will have to get someone to teach you at some point. As for when, probably at some point after this wave. But anyways, feel free to just do whatever you two want." He spoke towards Eorna and Kurose.
"Huh? Whatever we want?" Kurose asked.
"Yeah, just relax for the rest of the day," Matthias spoke with a shrug. Do whatever you want. Explore the castle, relax, or sleep. Anything really. Take advantage of these moments of peace. We are still at the beginning of the waves after all. It's only going to get more difficult. as we progress. Whilst you are doing whatever you want, I want to speak with both Sigun and Osvien."
"Of course," Kurose spoke, nodding his head. "I will probably go nap for a bit, so I will see you later."
"Of course. See you later Kurose." Matthias responded, waving him off.
Once he was sure Kurose was gone, Matthias turned towards those two.
"Right. Let's talk about what is going to happen if another hero does end up showing up."
"Huh? Another hero?" Osvien asked in confusion.
"Right, you don't know yet. I'll tell you the basics and all that."
With that said Matthias began to explain what happened during the previous wave, as well as giving them the plan for what would happen if a hero did come through the wave.
So… a late chapter and it's much shorter, but that's what happens when everything piles on top of you. It's all fine though, let's end off the year with preparations for the next wave! Wonder what monsters it will have.
Hopefully, the next chapter should be a bit longer than normal. Going to aim for about…8-10k words? Yeah, that sounds good. It is a wave after all, and the first one that Eorna and Kurose are strong enough to fight. Whether anything happens during the wave is anyone's guess though.
Hope you all have a good new year. Until next time.