Eijun was ecstatic. He as well as that Sorcerer, Furuya, was the only two newbies that were allowed into the next raid, to fill the last two of twelve spots. It had only been a month since he joined Seido, and already he was on his way to making his name amongst the top Raid Guilds. Though, he conveniently ignored the part where they blatantly chose Furuya and him to cover their lack of range classes, to instead believe it to be for his natural talent and finesse. And other than the Cleric, Yoshikawa, there were only three ranged recruits. Once the main raiding unit returned with scowls on their faces, an indicator of poor loot, they observed the newbies during their skill displays, where they took turns going all out against an invulnerable dummy to showcase their abilities in front of the majority of the guild.
Chris, a Paladin, had jotted down every single one of their displays to record their skills as well as the strengths and weaknesses that he observed. Apparently, every member has an annual test to perform that will allow the Guild Leader to compare and see how everyone has improved and what could still be worked on. All members were required to continuously train and improve their skills even if they were not in the first or second strings, to hopefully earn a spot later down the line. It also gave the main raid unit options of classes to choose from if certain raids required different abilities.
Eijun had been woken up at the ass-crack of dawn in his shared dorm room with Kuramochi and Masuko. The two were already donning their best gear with their magnificent legendary weapons. Kuramochi's dagger was sheathed horizontally across the small of his back for ease of access. Immediately, Eijun gushed with the need to see their weapons up close. He had never set eyes upon a legendary weapon in person before. The blade of Kuramochi's dagger was sleek and pure black. No shine appeared to reflect off its inky surface as if it absorbed any and all light, and at certain angles, the blade seemed to shift between blue and red undertones. The hilt was wrapped in black fabric with the end extending out to resemble that of a raven's feather. A faint eerie haze wafted off the blade continuously. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Masuko's broadsword was just as amazing with the tip of the blade split to form crimson horn-esque prongs. The red faded into normal slate steel the closer to the hilt it got, that of which, was made up of garnet scales to resemble the body of a dragon. To sell the idea of his sword having been obtained from some sort of drake-like Boss was a replica marbled eye situated at the end of the hilt with its golden iris and slitted pupil. And like the haze on Kuramochi's dagger, Masuko's broadsword appeared to emit a shimmer of heat despite the blade being cool to the touch.
Eijun was stoked to obtain his first legendary weapon, to say the least.
Kuramochi had gleefully informed him they had spare gear for his class and that he should be excited about the reveal. He had hyped him up all the way to the storage room so much that Eijun was expecting full legendary equipment, only for Kuramochi to rummage through a box to whip out some heroic gear. The disappointment hit Eijun hard enough to show on his face as Kuramochi laughed. Apparently, any legendary gear drops they get from Bosses that are for classes they don't have were sold on the market for prices that had Eijuns eyes widen in astoundment. Needless to say, Eijun yanked the gear out of a cackling Kuramochi's hand as he slipped them on over his undergarments. While it was merely heroic gear, it was still leagues better than the armor he previously wore.
Eijun was only slightly appeased to witness that Furuya had received the same treatment as he watched him silently fume while the rest of the first string gathered in the entrance of the guildhall.
Captain Yuuki did a headcount before announcing that they were ready to go. The people on the streets parted for their group as they made their way to the Warp Point located at the heart of Tokyo. Several pedestrians wished them luck as they passed while kids gaped upon them with large, sparkling eyes filled with awe. Eijun couldn't help boost his ego received from those looks.
An arm slung around his shoulders before he could start to preen, "Don't get cocky yet, rookie." Miyuki Kazuya snickered next to him, mirth dancing in his eyes behind the lens of his spectacles. When Eijun first met Miyuki, he was expecting him to be cool and aloof going by the rumors he had heard, however, Eijun quickly found out that Miyuki was quite the opposite, in fact. Miyuki was a conniving bastard, nothing at all what people were painting him out to be like. Eijun hadn't seen Miyuki fight yet, but Miyuki had to have been doing something right to earn a spot in the first string as well as to make other guilds want to recruit him. But so far, Miyuki had done everything he could to grind Eijun's gears with a smirk plastered on his stupidly handsome face.
"I'm not!" Eijun growled back, attempting to jostle the arm off of him, to no avail, and if anything, it made Miyuki tighten the arm around him even more. It was hard to tell through the layers of gear, but Miyuki was built purely with lean muscle. Eijun could feel the brawn as his head was sandwiched between Miyuki's bicep and forearm. Though Eijun supposed, Miyuki would have to be strong to be able to efficiently wield his greatsword. The blade was nearly as long as Miyuki was tall, with the tip almost brushing the ground even from the slight angle it was strapped across Miyuki's back. The added length of the gold hilt definitely caused the entire greatsword to be longer than Miyuki if it were standing upright.
The blade was a dark, royal purple that was thinner at the tip and grew wider towards the golden armillary globe before the hilt began. Gilded dots flecked the widest part with lines that connected them to form a constellation. The globe idly spun as it emitted purple and white light particles that spiraled around the blade before fading out, only to immediately be replaced with more. It was truly a work of art, and in Eijun's humble opinion, it was too good as well as unfitting for Miyuki. It added fuel to the fire for Eijun's desire to finally get his hands on a legendary weapon of his own. His mind quickly began to drift as he attempted to imagine the most awesome and epic spirit orbs he could manage. Though he knows it would never live up to the real thing.
Eijun abruptly snapped back to reality when their group came to a stop. He hadn't realized they were close to the Warp Point, having only been to it once and having gone in the opposite direction when he first arrived in Tokyo. Eijun observed as Yuuki handed the Dimensional Guide a small sack of coins to pay the fare for the entire first string. All travel expenses were paid in full by Seido as well as the cost if they need to find a place to stay at night. However, things such as gear repairs or even potions had to be paid out of one's own pocket. Currently, Eijun was broke, having spent what little he had exploring the bigger city in the month of his initial arrival.
"Get excited," Miyuki whispered in his ear before finally releasing him to follow Yuuki through the portal. Eijun froze in place, slapping a hand over his ear, he shot a seething glare at Miyuki's back as he fell into step with Kuramochi. He watched them disappear through the dimensional tear. Baladetly, Eijun realized everyone else had passed through and jogged to catch up. He stumbled through an apology to the unbothered Dimensional Guide as he practically dove into the warp.
They emerged in Kamakura, a smaller city south of Tokyo. It wasn't where the raid location resided, but it was the closest warp point, and from there, they would need to travel on mount. Eijun and Furuya were the only two sans mount and would have to pair up on someone else for the time being. The prior night, they had all gathered in one of the meeting rooms to go over all the intel that was available for the raid. The exact location of the raid was hidden far amongst the clouds, and the only way in was to go through the portal that appeared in one of the mountains near Kamakura. The portal worked similarly to warp points, only they led to one location and could not be controlled by a guide. Mobs were not able to cross through them as it was said their bodies would break down if they tried, so instinctually, mobs avoid them. Which allowed for safe escapes in the events they needed to make a hasty retreat.
Because of its cloudy position, it had been aptly named Tengoku's Labyrinth. According to scouts, the interior was like a gigantic maze that randomly led raiders through its depths. Each path eventually opened up into a large room with some sort of puzzle that was required to be solved to move onwards. It was hard to plan out an approach for something so unpredictable, other than to proceed with caution at all times.
Their group made their way through the city's market to top up on some last-minute supplies. Eijun was resigned to simply eyeballing products in a mock show of considering his purchases, knowing full well that the few copper coins jingling in his pocket would not get him very far. He was sure no amount of haggling would work in his favor either when the best he could offer was an IOU. However, as they were nearing the city limits, Tanba sidled up to him to hand him several potions. Taken by surprise, Eijun shot him a sunny smile while loudly declaring his appreciation to then claiming Tanba to be his new favorite person.
Once they were far enough away to safely summon their mounts, they were officially on their way. Eijun hitched a ride on Masuko's armored polar bear, while Furuya had been paired with Kawakami on his lizard. Eijun cheered as Kuramochi's cheetah practically ran circles around them to avoid getting too far ahead with his naturally faster mount.
It was just another item to add to Eijun's list of things to obtain. Right underneath the legendary weapon, of course.
They had left early morning knowing it would take a couple of hours to actually arrive despite traveling via mounts. However, when they reached the base of the mountain, it quickly became obvious that their mounts would not be able to traverse the smaller, unbeaten paths that winded up the mountain. Which meant they had to trek the rest of the way on foot. Thankfully, it wasn't anything new for Eijun, as he and his old guild often had to hike through dense undergrowth to reach the mouths of dungeons. It appeared the rest of the group were unbothered and unsurprised by the sudden change of travel. So clearly, this was a common occurrence. By the time they reached an entrance to a cave halfway up, the sun was already well into the sky.
"This is it," Yuuki announced as he gazed into the dark depths of the cavern. "We'll break here to eat and prepare." Without further instructions, the group parted to help set up their base. Eijun could do nothing but spin around in search of something to assist with. Already, a campfire had been set and lit in a short span of time, and Eijun wouldn't be surprised if whoever got it ready had gathered all the materials needed during their hike; though he doesn't recall seeing anyone carrying a bundle of sticks.
"Hey." A deep voice rumbled behind Eijun, startling him to whip around, coming face to chest with Azuma. "You have heals, right?" He asked, though it almost sounded like a demand, as if Eijun replied in the negative, then it would end badly like it would Eijun's fault for not having any.
"Yeah," Eijun began slowly, confused with the sudden line of questioning, "I have a few." He took a large step back so he wouldn't have to crane his head as much to look Azuma in the eye. "Why?" He threw back dubiously.
Azuma grunted and eyed him silently before replying, "Make sure to heal everyone." And without waiting for a response, and spun and his heel to stalk off.
"I'm not a healer!" Eijun shouted at his retreating back. This was starting to become a frustrating theme of people antagonizing Eijun before walking off as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, muffled laughter carried over to him, and sure enough, when he turned to look, it was none other than Miyuki Kazuya. However, before Eijun could make a snarky comment, Masuko appeared at his shoulder and drew his attention away from Miyuki.
"Don't worry about him," Masuko nodded his head in Azuma's direction, "He's not used to having classes with support skills." And with that, he too wandered away without awaiting a reply from Eijun.
Soon after, lunch was served. It consisted of a hearty soup and rice with a bitter tea that was said to boost energy. Eijun had to gag the tea down and scrape the remaining remnants of broth in his bowl to cover up the aftertaste. Kuramochi had seated himself beside Eijun and laughed at the disgusted faces Eijun couldn't help but make. Just when Kuramochi's laughter was dying off, it suddenly was renewed with fervor as he caught sight of Furuya, as he took his first sip and scrunched his face up at the bitter explosion on his taste buds. Eijun couldn't help but join in as witnessing it from an outsider's perspective was a lot more amusing than choking the liquid down himself.
It wasn't until after they put the fire out that Tanba informed him that Kuramochi had lied to Eijun and Furuya. They were the only ones that had bitter tea, while everyone else had normal. With the revelation, Eijun's face heated up in embarrassment that was fueled by the dying hysterics of Kuramochi and Miyuki.
A/N:
Reference
Miyuki - Warden
Sawamura - Summoner
Furuya - Sorcerer
Kuramochi - Assassin
Isashiki - Duelist
Yuuki - Dragoon
Masuko - Warrior
Kominato - Blade Master
Tanba - Archer
Shirasu - Brawler
Azuma - Destroyer
Kawakami - Warlock
