Soul Art Online
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 20: Greenfrost
- Arthas -
"So there might be more potential classes available if we level up our skills to the max level?" Shiroe asked. I nodded and he went back to his thoughts again.
"The main problem is that some classes might be unavailable if we select other ones. Doesn't that mean the people who lead the levels might become the ones who lag in the coming days?" Star asked, making everyone quiet.
"No use worrying about something we can't control. It just means we shouldn't rush into things. Take your time to master the techniques. We already knew that the gap will be reduced as we go further. The best we can do in this time is make the most of this gap to get to a more advantageous position."
"Yes. We can use this time to find better options for our advanced Classes. " Shiroe agreed. "What we need to do right now is work so that we can find clues for the higher tier classes. T6 is hard to get and T7 is even harder. We don't even know about higher ones. This game is vast. It is only reasonable that we will need more time to finish it."
"Even now, I don't think many people can complete the T5 Class Advancement Quests for some classes. As time goes on, more and more people would start moving towards Production Classes. The number of fighters will get lower." Star added.
"I mean, it's not like there are no easier classes. They just have to go through more classes to get the next class. But yeah, I don't think many people would like to continue with the rising degree of danger."
That would be a problem as it would mean clearing the higher level areas and world quests will become more challenging.
The situation of Rose and Bina had been a rude awakening for us.
In this game, just having high strength didn't matter if we encountered something like the last World Quest.
After all, both of them were strong and yet they were captured and faced that situation because their town was filled with mediocre players.
"We have two options. First would be to make our guild stronger by promoting fighting type classes. Maybe, helping them level up and distributing the knowledge of Class Advancements. Did you say there are classes which require people to grind more skills instead of having high difficulty quests? We can always let them go after those." Shiroe suggested after some thought. "It would also allow us to have a better central leadership during World Quests."
The game was getting harder and we had to change our tactics too.
For example, our skills.
The game gave us four quick slots for our skills which could be used with just a thought. As for other skills, we needed to go to the menu.
This was the case till T4.
I gained another Skill Slot when I became a T5. Shiroe and Veena did too so it seems it wasn't just something unique to me.
But as levels rose we would need more skills.
I can now understand why Arnold would ask me to master my skills so much. We could invoke those seals even without the menu if we had enough practice with them.
It's just that, that only happened when we actually mastered the Skill.
Yes, Mastered… not max out. Not even maxing out the skill could do so. We actually needed to understand what was happening and how we were using it.
Veena had compared it to learning magic and just using a prepared spell through a magic circle.
This meant, going forward, everyone had to force themselves to learn these techniques or they would be at a disadvantage.
It was also a reason behind me being the strongest in our group right now.
I mainly used the Hiten Mitsuruhi-ryū which was a swordsmanship style. All Skills were parts of the Swordsmanship Style and could be understood easily compared to something like say… Holy Blade or some passive buff aura…
Since sparring with Arnold, I was also working my ass off to master Armament and Observation Haki.
In fact, Chidori had levelled up to level 20 and now I could actually channel lightning on my sword. It was working like an elemental enchantment and increased the damage of my weapon.
"At this rate, I don't know how long it will take someone to get to T10… and if they can even get to that tier."
…
"Well, we will find that when we get there. No use worrying about it right now." I clapped my hands. "Anyways, I have to attend the party in Greenfrost in a few days. Arnold has offered me a ride there with him. I can take any two people with me. So, who wants to come with me?"
"I will be helping Star with his quest, so I won't be able to go with you." Shiroe replied.
Star had just completed levelling his T4 Ranger Class and received the quest for T5.
The T5 Class he had chosen was the Sniping Ranger. The reason for that was because this class could use guns, bows as well as a blade.
Star was quite good with all of them and didn't want it to go to waste. Normally he would have preferred something with guns more but we didn't have many good guns here. Everything was from the collection we got from Sabaody so we couldn't get him a Gunner exclusive class.
This was the second best option and it was something he preferred too. He didn't want to be a specialist but rather a hybrid build.
We supported his decision. After all, the one who knew what he wanted the best was himself.
For his quest, he had to solo hunt a T5 Boss. Others could help him but they couldn't damage the Boss.
Seriously, the quests were getting more and more ridiculous every time.
This meant I was more or less useless in this fight. All I could do was tank.
Shiroe could help out a lot as he could use his skills to trap the monster and make Star's job easier.
Similarly, Elaine and Whistler were the healer and buffer so their job was necessary too.
Bina was joining them to assist Shiroe in keeping the monster busy using Earth Wall Skill of hers.
As for Suikazura-san, she stayed behind to act as a tank just in case.
That meant the only ones left were Veena and Rose.
"I think you should take both Veena and Rose. Talking to the other nobles could get us quests and orders for the Guild. We need those Guild Points quickly, not to mention the business." Shiroe suggested.
Veena was good with business and Rose was very professional as a bodyguard, having worked for a literal king of Gods… not to mention, she was very good with the budget, the best even.
Among the people living in our house, Bina, Veena and I were all from rich backgrounds. We have never had to live with a smaller budget like in this game.
Even in my previous life, I was from a well to do family.
Rose on the other hand knew how to be frugal and was much better at maintaining a reasonable budget for our daily activities while not discounting anything.
She had even saved us a lot of money in our Guild businesses. That's why bringing her with us was supported by everyone.
Finally it was decided that we would leave for Greenfrost and even secure any deals we could there.
We discussed a few more things before we left for our homes.
x_
I walked towards the place where Arnold had asked me to meet him today. Rose and Veena followed behind me.
We had decided to leave early at dawn so as to cover the most distance while the sun was still out.
Arnold stood in front of a carriage, talking to the Knights who will be escorting us. He saw me coming and walked towards us with a smile.
"Arthas, Rose and Miss Veena if I remember correctly."
"Lord Straight." Veena gave the man a curtsy that wouldn't be out of place for any noble lady. Well, she was a noble so it wasn't out of place.
He nodded at her and turned towards me.
"We are ready to leave too. It's a two day long journey and we will stop by at the Kirkwall Village on the way and rest there for the night and continue the next day. We will be reaching Greenfrost by tomorrow evening."
"Sounds like a good plan."
I looked at the two knights who were following him. They were familiar faces from the Knight Academy. The two gave Rose and me a curt nod as we approached the carriage.
We had already packed enough food for the journey and without much talk we began.
Arnold sat with us inside the carriage with the two escorts driving the carriage.
"What? You look confused by something?" Arnold asked.
"Oh, I was actually expecting more people than just the six of us. Don't nobles usually bring servants for these kinds of things?"
"I don't really like those pompous rallies of carriages. This much is more than enough for me." Arnold replied with a roll of his eyes. "In fact, had it not been an official visit, I would have preferred riding my horse all the way to Greenfrost. Silver would have gotten me there by tonight."
Silver was the name of his horse.
"Too bad if I did that the Marquis would lecture me again."
"Again? You have done that before?" I asked with a smile.
"Obviously. This time I have someone to accompany me so it's not that bad but can you imagine sitting quietly inside a carriage for two days… it's like I am in solitary confinement… a luxurious solitary confinement but still a solitary confinement." He replied, his face scrunching at the thought which made me laugh.
Arnold has grown up in a village near the forests. As the son of a woodcutter, he has always preferred staying in open nature and hated closed spaces like these.
He wasn't much older than me either. Just twenty two, one of the youngest people in the Kingdom to have achieved this level at such a young age. He was one of the top talents in the kingdom. Due to this, we got along quite well with each other.
"So, what's that about the Marquis lecturing you?" I asked with a laugh.
"Well, it is a formal occasion and I am a noble under the Marquis so my behaviour also affects his reputation. Our Kingdom hands out nobilities based on strength but that doesn't mean there aren't those who have inherited the position from their families. Several of the old nobles, especially the ministerial ones, always nitpick, trying to find a way to put us, so-called rowdy bunch, in our place and win His Majesty's favour. A good thing the King doesn't pay mind to these things. That said, we are still expected to pose with the dignity of a noble on such occasions."
"And the Marquis?" I asked.
"Hmm?"
"What kind of person is he? I mean I was only able to see him for a few moments last time so I don't know what kind of person he is."
"Lord Conrad is a good person, although a bit stiff. He's a Holy Knight so he is close to the Church. He has however only taken the position for a year so he is still learning. He is more of an inquisitor though. Because of this, the security of the territory is among the best. You did see the fast response to the Goblin invasion." He asked and I nodded.
"The power of the House is still in the hands of his grandfather, the previous Marquis, Lord Daren Black. He is a Paladin, a true master. Although he is retired now, his power hasn't waned in the slightest. He is still one of the strongest Knights in the Kingdom. His son and Lord Conrad's uncle, Hector Black, on the other hand is a minister and not really a fighter. He can be a bit… difficult."
"Oh?" Veena asked, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "Is he not supportive of the Marquis?"
Arnold let out a sigh. "As I have already said, our Kingdom gives preferences to strong people to rule territory. This is not just the King but also most Houses. This means that others like Lord Hector Black who are good at management can look over the territory but not inherit the position of the Lord… despite being the elder son." A helpless look passed over the man's face.
"I see. So he holds a grudge for Lord Conrad becoming the Marquis? What of Lord Conrad's father?"
"Hugo Black. He lost his life in a war to save the Kingdom. It was his sacrifice which saved several cities and for this reason, he is very widely respected in the whole Kingdom even after his death. Originally due to him passing away, Hector Black was supposed to inherit the position as the only remaining son of Lord Daren but Lord Daren decided to wait and directly passed over a generation and gave the title of the Marquis to Lord Conrad… well, you can guess the resentment building up from that. Normally, Hugo being the Marquis wouldn't have been bad… or uncommon since the first choice was dead… but directly passing over Hector even in the event of Hugo's death… that part was something Hector held a grudge against."
"Nobility… position and power can make people forget even their blood." Veena said, a mixture of sadness and helplessness in her voice.
Was she remembering her own time with the Bael?
Although this world was perhaps not as I had imagined, what with Bina not being married and a reincarnator roaming around with Great Red, Ophis and a new Dragon Goddess as his lovers… I remember Zekram Bael being similar to what Lord Daren Black sounds like. As for Conrad, I don't know more about him to make any decisions.
"So, what exactly are we supposed to do when we go there? We won't be targeted by anyone would we?"
"Us? No way. They cannot do anything to use apart from passing some sharp comments. Be prepared to be looked down upon and spoken to in a patronising manner. They will never say a word which may be directly offensive although they will never fail to use a tone which will make you feel offended… huh… now that I think about it, those sissies must be talented to keep this nonsense up all their lives…"
I had the urge to facepalm at the guy's comments.
"Is everyone like that?" I asked, feeling a headache coming.
"No. Not really. Those are only the ones who support Hector Black. There will be plenty of other nobles who will be there for business. You can get enough support for your guild if you impress them." He added the last part knowing why I was going there.
"Well, that's all that matters then."
"Eh? Just that? Are you not interested in the party? The food and wine will be out of this world…"
"Are you?" I asked him. He stopped and smiled at me.
"Touché."
We joked around. Arnold might act like a fool when in private but he was the City Lord and was quite accustomed to dealing with nobles and businessmen alike.
He gave us some names we could contact to get jobs for our guild in Greenfrost and told us about the places we could go to get better recipes for medicines.
We also got to know more about other territories of the Kingdom.
We were on the eastern side of the kingdom. East of us was the sea. In the north were the mountains beyond which were the forests which were mostly unexplored and continued to the ocean.
Before the forest was the territory of Greenfrost. It is ruled by the House of Black, a family of Knights who have been serving the kingdom for the last four hundred years. The previous Lord, Derek Black rose up to the rank of a Paladin and helped elevate his house from the position of an Earl to a Marquis.
On the western side was the kingdom of Baweth which has always been at war with our kingdom of Auvudor.
Most of the Knights of the kingdom went there to gain merits and get promoted.
Even Arnold spent time there.
Right now, there was no war but small skirmishes were always present.
Their kingdom was more of a barbarian type, being a collection of many races, strength rules all. Even their King is a T8 Barbarian King.
According to Arnold, they fought like maniacs, the more they got injured the more ferociously they fought.
It reminded me of the Berserk Class in the games I used to play.
They used any means to take down their foes but their main style of fighting was using brute force to overwhelm their enemies. It's one of the main reasons why our kingdom concentrated so much on Knights with high defensive power.
"Their strength cannot be underestimated. Their people are descended from many monstrous races including the fabled giants and while the blood might have been diluted over the centuries, they still have an enormous advantage in brute strength over us humans. It's just that they detest the use of magic. Any magician is looked down upon with suspicion by them. This is probably the main reason we can match them by judicious use of magic and Battle Aura. Just the thought of them learning these two skills frightens me." Arnold shook his head.
"Monstrous races?" I was attracted by the sudden topic.
"Yes Monstrous races like the orcs and ogres. They were separate tribes at the start before the current king was able to gather them together and form a horde and establish the Kingdom of Baweth."
"And Giants?"
"Well, true Giants are beings of legends. They are walking forces of nature. There are stories about their nation being somewhere beyond the Reverse Mountain. There are myths of them being descended from Titans but they don't exist on this continent anymore. The best we have is the King of Baweth, a Half Giant or Buccaneer. He stands at seven feet tall normally but when he enters his half giant form, his height increases to almost double of that. His strength and defence increase along with his height to a level where he can just cleave through the shields of even Imperial Knights and cut through Ogre Chieftains when in an enraged state. The only one who can stop him in such a state is his Majesty." Arnold said, a bit of awe in his voice.
I was however attracted to the Buccaneer title.
Didn't I have a race card for that?
"Are there other magical races with their own kingdoms?"
"In fact there are. There are Elven colonies in the south. They are reclusive tribes but they do come together if people invade their territory. Fighting them in forests is a death sentence. Kal Kohldur is a kingdom of dwarves. It's a neutral state that sells weapons to everyone. Even the mad barbarians don't attack them or they would be ganged up on by every other nation on the continent."
I had heard of that Kingdom before while on Sabaody.
Arnold continued.
"In the north, there are the Dark Forests. They are mainly unexplored as they are infested by miasma and dark creatures like the undead. Normally they don't come out of the forests but every few decades, there is a breakout in which hordes of undead invade. It's those times that the Holy Knights come in handy."
"What kind of undead are we talking about?" Veena asked.
"Many kinds. Starting from normal skeletal soldiers, ghouls to Liches and Death Knights. The forests are vast, almost the size of our kingdom and yet remains unexplored due to the dangers there. We are still not sure what lies in there. The most the Holy Knights and the Church can do is clean out the edges at regular intervals to prevent the undead from coming out to the populated areas."
I asked him more about the other races and the Buccaneer especially and found out several things.
Mostly about Baweth and its King.
Their entire kingdom thrived on war and was always at war against other nations.
Plundering was their main source of income. Their lands were mostly barren but they had rich mineral reserves which they harvested using slaves they captured from other kingdoms. The fact that it still hasn't been destroyed yet already showed its strength.
"This is why our King is so hell bent on finding a Devil Fruit, especially a Logia Fruit. Their kingdom doesn't have many counters against it and he could just sweep them by himself with that kind of power." Arnold explained.
"I will keep an eye for any of them the next time I go to Sabaody. In fact, we are planning to go beyond the Reverse Mountain when my team gets to a higher tier."
He nodded.
"By the way, how often are there wars against Baweth?" I asked. "Will we be sent there too?"
"Hmm, if you volunteer then sure. You are a part of the Llyne Knights so if we are deployed then you will have to go to the frontlines. As for how often… it depends. It's mostly after winters when they lack food. Those numbskulls don't think about selling their minerals to buy food but instead go to wars by making weapons out of the same minerals… that's just the kind of people they are. I would say we have a few months for that. Although if you want, you can always join early. There are plenty of skirmishes."
"I will have to ask my team before making any such decision. For now, our schedule is full so I doubt we can do anything."
"Pity. Just tell me if you want to volunteer anyday."
"Hmm."
By evening, we had reached the village and decided to rest at the inn and begin our journey early the next morning.
And that's where something happened.
"The rooms are full?"
"Yes. We were told of only two rooms." The innkeeper apologised. Arnold didn't know who would come with me and had only booked two rooms. One for himself and his attendants and the other for me and my companions.
He had already left for his room with his two attendants and that only left Rose and Veena with me.
"It's not a big problem. Just a night. We can adjust." Veena said and Rose also agreed. While we could offer some money to the innkeeper to find us some other place in the village, Rose was not the type to do such a thing.
We saw the room and it had one bed and a chair, a typical inn room.
"You two can take the bed. I have a sleeping bag in my inventory." I offered, taking out my sleeping bag and laying it on the ground.
"N-no. Let me." Rose said, but I shook my head.
"It's just a few hours. It's better this way." I looked at Veena for some support who put a hand on Rose's shoulder and convinced the girl to let go.
She still felt hesitant but due to Veena and my insistence, she finally let go.
x_
"Did you have a nice sleep?" Arnold asked me, a smirk at the corner of his lips.
This bastard… he did that on purpose.
"Yes. In fact, I had a wonderful nap."
In fact, I wasn't even lying.
I did sleep well.
It's just that Rose didn't look like she did.
Her eyes were slightly red and she looked more tired than normal.
As a T4 she could still remain awake for two or three days without affecting her performance but it was still annoying.
Still, the girl was just too pure… it was adorable.
"Good. In that case we can set off early." He replied, probably looking at Veena and Rose who were arriving there.
We had breakfast at the inn and left early.
By the time the sun was setting, we could see the outline of large city walls in the distance. It's just that unlike Llyne's city walls, Greenfrost's walls were enormous.
Even under siege, it would take multiple hits from strong siege weapons to break any of them. Not only the strength of the wall but also the size of the city itself.
It was almost a dozen times bigger than Llyne. The streets were paved with stone and were wide enough for four carriages to pass at once.
The city was elevated towards the centre where another large wall could be seen.
"Greenfrost is divided into three parts. The outermost city, the outer city and the inner city. The inner city is where the official buildings, the Cathedral and the Lord's Castle are located. It's also where the nobles under the Lord have their mansions. The outer city is for normal citizens of Greenfrost and the outermost city is the one outside the outer walls, similar to Llyne, for farmers who stay there to take care of the crops." Arnold explained as we were led inside.
"Nobles' mansions? You have a mansion there too?" I asked while looking in the distance in the direction pointed out by Arnold. Sure enough, there was a cathedral style
building ahead.
"Well, we are just barons so the best we have is free rooms at the Inns. The guest houses would be full at this time due to every noble in the territory showing up to congratulate the Lord. You don't need to worry though. The free rooms are quite large, suitable for a noble. You could also get more rooms for your companions if you want."
We looked around and I could see plenty of T4 people in the town. In fact, T4 was quite normal here.
T5 were rarer but still plenty.
In fact, I saw several T5 Templars roaming the streets.
"This place sure has many Templars." I asked.
"Yes. The twentieth unit of Knights is a legion of Templars led by Lord Conrad Black, a Holy Knight. It's named the Order of the Silver Hand. They have a garrison in the inner city near the Cathedral. The weapons and Skill Books you received as a reward were from the same place."
Order of the Silver Hand…
Suddenly things were clicking everywhere.
Order of the Silver Hand, Paladins, Holy Knights, Undead, Elves, Barbarian Hordes… at this point I could only say one thing…
"Motherfu…"
"Hmm?"
"Nothing… it's nothing."
The realisation was like a dam had broken as one thought after another came to my mind about the scenario and the future quests.
It wasn't going to be the whole Warcraft questline, would it?
"Say Arnold, what about the strongest in the country? What about the Royal Family? How strong are they and what class do they have?"
"The Royal family?"
"The King, Terenas Menethil II is a T8 Swordmaster. His son…" He smirked at me… "Arthas Menethil is one of the brightest Holy Knights of the Kingdom."
"Oh. How old is he? Is he married?" I asked, trying to know the timeline of the world.
He looked at me oddly at the question but answered nonetheless. "I think he is twenty one years old. Married? No. But there is news about him being involved with the princess of the Kheadel Empire. She is the disciple of the Archmage of the Magic Tower, the foremost organisation of magicians in the Continent."
…
Fuck!
I had very complex thoughts about this moment but I pushed those thoughts away.
Right now, the most important part was figuring out if it was just the setting which was the same or if the future would also be the same like in Warcraft?
If it was, then I am leaving everything and going across the Reverse Mountain.
As Arnold kept on telling me about Greenfrost, I kept planning for ways to get out of this whole mess.
The first sign I hear of an undead plague or a scourge, I am getting out.
He said Arthas was twenty one years old. If my fading memory serves me right, the entire mess started when Arthas was twenty four. If things go as I remember, at least I hope the Game Master remembers it as I did, then I have three years… because there is no way he didn't use this quest line if he went through all the effort to set this up.
We passed through the outer city and reached the gates of the Inner City. Even the gates were manned by T5 Knights…
Arnold showed his Baron Badge to one of them and taking this as a signal, I did the same and we were allowed to pass through.
The inner city was a level above the outer city.
There were no random people with cheap clothes on the streets. Everyone we saw looked rich.
The class separation was quite evident in the mediaeval age… not that it's that different now but it was worse.
Our carriage stopped in front of an Inn and Arnold got down. We followed him.
The innkeeper was an acquaintance of Arnold and we got two free rooms. Apparently the Marquis had one free room for each Baron Ranked noble attending the party paid for in advance.
We decided to check the room first and see if we wanted another room although Rose didn't look like she wanted to get another room especially after hearing the price. It was twelve times higher than our previous inn's price.
Thankfully for us, the room was quite big. It had two different large beds, a big couch and attached baths and washrooms.
In fact, the area of the room was more than the house we were living in.
I now understood what Arnold said about us not needing extra rooms.
We had our dinner as it was already late by now.
Tomorrow was a day off and we could look around Greenfrost.
Arnold had told me that he would show me around the town and I needed to visit the Greenfrost Kinght Academy too so we retired early for the day.
- Akeno Himejima -
She used her Lightning Ray spell to snipe down the last one of the group, a ring of experience gain signifying the death of the scum in her ears.
"That was the third group. Six of them this time. That makes it fifteen, doesn't it?" Arthur asked, sheathing his sword.
"Hmm. Their numbers keep increasing every time. I guess even these idiots figured out that they were being hunted down and are sending out larger groups." She replied as she checked the faces of the downed ones. "That's Victor, one of their executives, isn't he?" She asked.
"Yes, that's him."
"No wonder he had so much gold on him. Hopefully, this will make them reign in their behaviour or maybe leave this town." She replied, storing the bodies in her inventory.
They dumped the bodies near the lair of a field boss so the remains were not a problem.
"There are five executives in Dark Fiends, a Vice Leader and a Leader not to mention the rapidly increasing numbers. Even with him gone, I doubt they would move away so easily. If anything, they would send more people out to hunt down anyone who targets them. What we need to do is finish off at least half of their top level." Arthur replied, storing the rest of the bodies in his inventory and walking towards the Field Boss Lair.
"Ambushing them all is getting harder even with the poisons and paralysing agents. I think we should hold on for a while. Actually, we could perhaps post a bounty on the heads of their members."
"No. The people in the Black Market belong to no one. They would sell us off for a price. I think we should just stop this for a few weeks and let them have a sense of false calm before we take down another one of their executives. If we continue this, it would just make the Knights get involved and that would be troublesome. The best course of action would be to leave this town before they can regroup themselves." Arthur replied and she agreed.
They were trying to avoid catching the attention of the Knights and the nobles especially after knowing that the leader of the Dark Fiends wanted the support of some viscount after selling her.
Normally, they wouldn't have resorted to such extreme measures but when they interrogated that member who was tracking them and got the information… they lost any mercy they had for these scumbags. Even Arthur who was always honourable and disliked ambushes agreed to use any means necessary to take them down.
Selling the female members of her group as slaves and taking control over the kids of the orphanage and their business…
Yeah, there will be no mercy for them.
On asking further, they found out that the leader of the group Raizen, was a criminal in real life too, something he often brags to his other group members.
After disposing of the bodies, they hunted for the rest of the night, to catch Arthur up with the rest of the group.
During this time, she had been accompanying him in his hunts and this had caused her to gain extra levels.
At this rate, she could get to T5 in a month and half at best.
They reached their home late at night and Marielle was waiting for them, hands on her waist, pouting.
"You two are late again. You shouldn't push yourself so hard, you know. It could be dangerous outside. Haven't you heard, several players have gone missing in the past two weeks. What will you do if you encounter some danger outside?"
"It's nothing, Marielle. We were just levelling on the outskirts. We didn't go far away." She explained with a smile. "Anyways, did all of you eat already?" She asked.
"No. Everyone was waiting for you two. Now come in quickly and get washed up. Even the kids didn't want to eat without you two."
She felt her heart warm at the words and nodded at Marielle.
They got washed up quickly and had dinner with everyone before she gathered the group together.
"I was thinking of something and had an idea today. I want your suggestions on the matter." She told Marielle.
"What idea?"
"Well, you have heard how people… other players are disappearing in this town recently?" She asked, getting a nod from everyone in the group. "I am worried about our group and most importantly the kids being targeted by them too. Today, Arthur and I went to the Black Market and heard some rumours."
"What rumours?"
"There are rumours that the players are being targeted by slavers."
"What?!"
"Yes. Now, it's a rumour but there is a high chance that it's true but there is apparently a noble in a nearby town who buys slaves. There are people in this town who wish to gain his favour by selling him slaves. In return they can do whatever they want without any interference from the Knight Academy of the town. If that's really true, then it's understandable why nothing has been found yet, what with the noble keeping the Knights away from the crime scene. At this rate, we could be targeted in the future too. That's why…"
"That's why?"
"I was thinking of taking everyone and moving away from this town. I think a bigger town would be better." She proposed.
Marielle looked in deep thought, unlike her usual cheery self, she was very serious at the moment.
"How credible is this news?"
"We paid some money and found that there is likely to be no attacks in the next few weeks as they have already captured enough players for this round and have left the town to sell them. The attacks may resume when they return. This is why we were so late today. We can use this time to relocate everyone. In fact, the best would be to put up a quest with the Knight's Academy itself. They would probably help us with Nao-kun's connections." She looked at Naotsugu who was silent at the news too.
He nodded. "I have got some friends there. I can get some help if it's just escorting us to a different town although we will need some money for that. I will ask them tomorrow and see how much it will cost."
"Let's decide on a town we wish to move to first. We can get a map of the kingdom. Nao-kun, can you ask around and find which city is safer in this kingdom? I will talk to our clients too. Since Akeno-chan and Arthur-kun have already investigated this, we can start collecting supplies in secret. It's better if no one knows about the move. Keep an eye and make sure we are not observed by anyone during this time."
Everyone nodded at her words.
"By the way, Arthur is also ready for his Knight Quest. So, Nao-kun, take him with you. We will get the job change done for him tomorrow or the day after. We should prepare as much as we can. We will move out in a week."
"Got it."
Akeno also sighed in relief as one part of her plan was successful for now.
- Rias Gremory -
She was knocked away by the attack, the shockwave from the attack rattling her bone but she kept holding her shield, refusing to let go.
Right at that moment, a blast of fire landed on the top of the monster in front of her, making its legs buckle under the attack. Almost right after, Koneko appeared in the air above the monster, landing a Heavy Kick on its head. The ground under its feet cracked as it kneeled.
She didn't let go of this chance and used her newly acquired Double Strike Skill on both its eyes before quickly backing away.
The beast howled in anger but their attack was far from over.
An arrow hit the beast's head, as a temporary status of confusion affected it.
She didn't miss the chance and couched, raising her shield over her head and Chief Nynata used it as a foothold to jump above the downed beast. Reaching its back and started slashing down. She too didn't wait and attacked the legs of the beast to prevent it from getting up.
Finally, after fifteen more minutes of fighting, the beast collapsed and they got the message of experience gain and relaxed.
"Hah!... This one was harder than any boss fight. Is this seriously a T5? And this was supposed to be the weakest of the field bosses around our town." She said as she sat down, catching her breath after the difficult fight.
Except her, her whole team was the highest level players in the town and yet, they were having such a hard time against a T5 Boss, even after all the preparation they have had.
"Well, this is to be expected. The gap between each level is going to be greater as we go up. You can't expect a T5 monster to be the same as T4." Henrietta replied as she checked the drops from the boss. "Oh, we have a Skill Book and a Sword too. Rebound Shield. Looks like a Skill for you." Henrietta passed on the sword and skill book to her.
She used the Skill Book.
Rebound Shield was a Skill which reflected 15% of the Damage to the opponent for 60 seconds after being activated.
It was a great skill.
With this, she also noticed that she had reached level 30 for the Squire Class.
"I can take the Knight Examination now."
"Oh, yes. You did reach level 30 with this boss. Was there a first kill bonus on this boss or did all the T5 Bosses give such exp?" Henrietta asked, pushing up her glasses.
The action made Rias smile. It reminded her of Sona and Tsubaki.
In a way, Henreitta was quite similar to those two. She was always very systematic in her work like Tsubaki and had a secret love for adorable things just like them too.
"Yes, it does seem to be the case. We will have to hunt this boss again and see if we get the same amount of experience. Anyways, we should go back and get the quest." Chief said too.
"Congratulations, Buchou." Koneko congratulated her and Ley Fay followed too.
She caressed Ley Fay and Koneko's heads. "Thank you."
x_
"Well, the quest looks quite simple. We might need to be slightly careful to avoid the hostages being harmed but other than that it shouldn't be that bad." She said, looking at the quest.
They made a basic plan for the quest and readied their supplies before heading towards the location.
Four hours later, Rias would regret saying those words.
x_
"We shouldn't have taken the kids to that quest." She sighed.
"None of us knew what kind of things we would have seen there." Henrietta replied, placing a glass of cold juice near her.
The scene from the quest had left a bad taste in their mouths. They had all rampaged and she had completed the quest too. It's just that… she shouldn't have taken the kids.
"You saved their lives. Also… it's a game. Don't let it affect you." Henrietta replied.
She nodded.
It wasn't as if it was the first time she had seen death or taken lives.
Any High Class Devil her age had done that at least once but this time… those bandits had targeted other children for trafficking…
That was too much for her.
It reminded her of the condition of her own peerage members and then the thought of what they could have gone through if she hadn't found them came to her mind… and the next thing she knew, she could see their faces in those hostages.
Rias had been feeling guilty about them for a long time and hadn't found any clues to their whereabouts and now this… safe to say she was pissed.
The bandits paid for it.
Even Chief Nyanta was angry and he was generally the calmest person in the group.
The game was really messing with people's minds.
"So, how did it go?" Henrietta asked.
Rias nodded. "The quest was completed. I even got a Skill Book called Parry for perfect completion of the Quest. I was however told to return back in a week. Apparently, the people we saved, one of them was a relative of a high ranking Knight. The person himself is out of town as the City Lord's guard, attending some big event somewhere and didn't even know his relative was missing. The receptionist said that he would want to thank us."
"Oh. It looks like a nice connection to make in the Knight Academy. Could lead to potential quests."
"Hmm."
"Well, cheer up. You became a T4 today. Next up, we can get you a Templar Class. We are having a party today."
She smiled too.
Yes.
She was getting stronger.
One step at a time.
She will reunite with her peerage members again.
- Kuroka -
"Woah… it's a biiiig city." Gasper whispered from inside his… box she carried on her back.
Getting him inside the town had been a bit embarrassing and troublesome to explain but nothing which couldn't be solved with a few gold coins.
The fact that Gasper wasn't a wanted criminal also helped…
He had gotten better since the last time he went out to get potions for her but going out in public was still difficult for him. At least he was trying now, which was already much better than she could say about him from a month ago.
She was now putting him through a routine to get him out of his phobia of going out step by step. The first step was being in the presence of others… even if inside a box.
Maybe conversing with people will get him to come out in time.
They had left the previous town to get away from her past and start fresh.
Her new Rogue Class also represented her resolve.
Now, she had to find a group to hunt with.
She hoped that she could find a better group.
They had a referral for a Blacksmith at Greenfrost for Gasper.
Opening a shop was going to be expensive so they had to save up.
Back in the previous town, he had worked privately, mainly making equipment for the clients she brought with her.
This also meant that he didn't have anyone who could refer him to a bigger shop in Greenfrost. Fortunately, even in this world, money solves many problems.
Dozen bottles of mead and twelve thousand Gold Coins were enough to buy him a referral from one of the Blacksmith Shops in the town.
As for the Skill Level… Gasper would soon be better than the blacksmith who gave him the reference letter.
They were in the outer city area of Greenfrost. It was where normal civilians lived.
Kuroka asked around for an Inn and then Blacksmith shops nearby.
For the rest of the day, they roamed from one shop to another, trying to find a place which needed people for hire.
And at the end of the day, she finally found the last shop in the area, run by a tall bald old man…
He looked like he had just gotten up from a nap.
"Aye there doll, forgive me. The shop will open in a while. You can take care of any errands in that time."
"It's fine… we wanted to talk about something else. We can wait."
"Oh… is it something urgent? Ughh… this headache is killing me. Know, what? Would you be a dear and get me five bottles of milk from the store on the other side of the street. That's the one, with a red tiled roof. I can open the shop quicker if you do that. Just ask old Martha. Tell her Gustav asked for his milk. She'll know."
… She just stared at the man but nodded nonetheless.
In fact, she was hungry from the journey too and milk did sound appetising at the moment. "Would you like something, Gaspy?"
"M-milk sounds good."
"By Antonidas' beard… is there someone in that box?" The old man stared weirdly at the box.
"H-hello. My name is Gasper."
Kuroka looked at them talking to each other and left them to get the milk.
She returned five minutes later and even outside the shop, there were sounds of the old man's laughter.
"Right. Who says old blacksmiths always have to drink mead. Milk is far better for health. It's good for the bones, and all blacksmiths need their bones strong, don't they? Know what, kid… you seem like a great kid. I like you."
She quickly passed him the milk bottles and gave one to Gaspy while opening the last one as she drank from it.
The old man on the other hand finished all the bottles in just a couple of gulps and let out a content sigh. "That hit the spot. Thanks a lot, doll. Now… what do you two want?"
"We… actually, Gaspy is looking for a job. He is a Blacksmith and is looking for somewhere to learn and progress in his craft."
"A Blacksmith? Why didn't you say that before? I am short of people here anyways. My last apprentice got married and shifted to another province. That's why I have been working overtime. I could always use a hand… although I will have to see if you are capable first or you just start as a chore boy."
Kuroka used a Scan type skill on him and found that the man was a… Level 50, T5 Master Blacksmith…
"I… I will work hard."
"Ahahahaha great. As long as you do that, I will make you the greatest Blacksmith in the entire Greenfrost province. First lessons first, always drink milk. They are good for your bones." He started and Kuroka sweat dropped at his words.
"Y-y-yes, Sir!"
"Good. That's the spirit. Now, break the coal and show me what you got."
Well… at least it looked like Gaspy got a job.
Now they needed to find a place to live in Greenfrost.
x_x_
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Beta Note: The advance chapters are in order of what is updated, a first Tier will not get 2 advanced chapters for every story, only the next two to be released.
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Author's Note:
I am back with another chapter of 'Soul Art Online'.
I tried to describe the continent in more detail and I am sure many have recognised the similarities in the world with other worlds… trust me, it is not completely the same here.
So, Arthas just realised that he is in NotLorderon… and what kind of trouble could be coming for him in the future.
Akeno and Arthur went on a rampage and created a scenario for them to leave.
The Knight Class Quest remains a cursed one and this time Rias faced it. Although, it was not the same as Arthas' one.
Goblins are the worst.
Finally, Kuroka and Gasper are in Greenfrost.
We will see how the birthday goes in the next chapter.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.