Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters in the story are consenting adults over
18 years of age.
Chapter 28: Team Bonding
_
- Arthas -
I got inside the tent with Rose while Kuroka offered to stay up for the first shift of the
night as guard.
The forests were dangerous even near Llyne let alone something like this near
Greenfrost which was a relatively high level area.
I did notice that the average level of enemies in this area wasn't that high, at least on
the outskirts. But then again, we had spent most of our time hunting just that boss so we
might not have encountered actually dangerous enemies.
Sir Ralph did say that there were actually T6 Bosses deeper in the jungle. It's just that
we didn't have the intention of pushing our luck so far.
We could have tried our luck if the whole team was here but without that… no. I wasn't
suicidal yet.
I looked at Rose who had set up a bed, basically a tanned leather sheet with a thick
mattress made from the fur of the T5 Tiger Boss we had hunted.
Yes… I was very particular about my bedding. Sure I had adjusted in the first few
months but… what's the point of adjusting when I had another option? Even my
teammates knew of this and they just rolled their eyes but didn't deny that. The tiger
was big enough to provide us all with mattresses. We even had two blankets for us.
Another strange thing I noticed was that… there were no sleeping bags in this world…
or we hadn't encountered them yet. Not to mention the fact that I just couldn't sleep in a
sleeping bag. I had tried it while camping with my parents but never got used to it.
I didn't want to test out if my virtual body was the same as my real body in regards to
my dislike for sleeping bags.
Adventurers used leather tents as a roof, thick fur hides as beddings and blankets when
on long trips.
Other than that, they prefer to travel light while hunting because unlike Players who had
the convenience of an Inventory, they had to bring the loot back to the city on their own.
And wasn't that a pain in the neck?
Just travelling through the forests can be exhausting so doing so while lugging a load of
hundreds of kilograms… yeah, I didn't envy the NPCs.
Once more I realised how valuable the Swamp Swamp Fruit had been as it could store
both living and non-living beings inside the user's body and that was on top of making
the user invulnerable to physical attacks completely. No wonder the guy was so friendly
to us and for the kingdom to offer a Noble Position for something like that.
Seriously, I will have to arrange a trip to Loguetown as soon as I can. There were just
too many good opportunities left in One Piece areas.
The years I had spent after reincarnation had made many of my memories of my
previous life hazy. I am pretty sure I have missed many opportunities for making
references due to not remembering everything.
I don't know if it was my raised intelligence stats which had improved my memory to
help me recall things or just me spending every moment of my free time trying to
remember them.
Still, I had plenty of references from the more… famous anime and manga, One Piece
being one of them.
I am just holding the trip off for now. I am just a bit hesitant because we don't know
when the next World Quest might arrive and being anywhere away from the main team
during such a time could be risky… extremely risky.
Rose and Bina's case was a terrifying memory reminding us to not be too overconfident.
I laid down on the bed and looked at Rose who was looking at me, looking slightly
embarrassed again.
Ah… she must have remembered things from last night.
Understanding her embarrassment, I offered her my hand.
Her eyes widened as her face was dyed in red once more but she still took my hand
and sat down beside me on the bed.
Next I just pulled at her hand slowly and she fell on top of me, letting out a yelp of
surprise at the sudden move.
I however knew she was very nervous so I didn't make any more moves or push her to
do anything either.
Veena was right to stop us from going all the way yesterday and while I won't say that I
wasn't a little bit miffed at that time last night, later on, after thinking about it more, I
came to understand her reasoning.
That's why I just took her in my arms, letting her head rest on my arm as I hugged her.
"You don't have to be nervous. I will never… ever do anything you don't want to." I
whispered as I softly kissed her forehead.
After that, I just closed my eyes and laid there, trying to get some hours of sleep before
our turn to guard.
Minutes later, I felt Rose relaxing in my arms and actually snuggled more into my chest,
wrapping her arms around me.
The nights in the forests can be quite chilly but I wasn't feeling any of that right now.
…It must be the tiger fur.
x_
I was awakened by Kuroka's voice from outside the tent. Opening my eyes, I saw a
head of white hair in front of me.
Rose was still wrapped around me just like the previous night.
I moved lightly so as to not disturb her sleep. Yesterday was a lot for her too. Let her
sleep for an hour or two more.
And at that time I wanted to talk to Kuroka alone. I had asked her to wake me an hour
before it was her shift's end to guard.
She was going to be joining our team and knowing more about her beyond just mere
lines from a fictional book of my previous life was necessary.
I had come to realise that people in this world were quite different from the simple two
dimensional characters I had known in the previous life. And it's not like the novels did a
good job of concentrating on anything other than breasts.
Sure there were some similarities between them, but there were so many of their
nuances that one can know only after knowing them more closely. Their likes, their
dislikes, little details which truly differentiated someone from an acquaintance to a true
friend or maybe even greater.
I quickly equipped my equipment and walked out of the tent.
Kuroka was just outside the tent and she raised an eye at the sight of Rose sleeping
inside and then smirked at me, giving me a look of teasing.
Unfortunately for her… I have been dealing with Veena's Plus Ultra level teasing to fall
for her adept level teasing.
So I just gave her my perfected eye roll and walked out, taking a seat near the fire.
"Let her sleep for a bit longer." I said as I brought out a mug and some water.
It was chilly outside and while I didn't feel uncomfortable due to my high level, I would
never say no to some hot tea now.
"How much sugar do you like in your tea?" I asked as I added water to the mug and put
it on top of the fire to boil.
Kuroka was quite smart and understood what I meant and sat down in front of me.
"This is quite a unique way of asking a girl out for tea… and that too with your girlfriend
sleeping inside. My my, how naughty." She purred.
"Yes yes, very nice. Now… can we get real?" I asked, as I stroked the fire.
"Oho wanna get real so quick? Not even a proper date or tea first?" She purred, not
giving up.
I just gave her a bland look. "Do you really want to keep up this act the whole time?
That will not get us anywhere, you know?"
She became quiet, almost tense at this. It was as if she was ready to fight… no. no. She
wasn't ready to fight. She was getting ready to flee.
I let out a sigh, bringing out two cups and pouring the tea in the cups. "Don't worry. I
have no intention of fighting or harming you. I am just asking you to drop this… bad
girl… hmm, that's not right. That one is more natural… ah, yes… this mean girl act of
yours. It doesn't really work on everyone and only gets annoying for those who can
identify it as such. Unfortunately Rose was actually fooled by that act… hah! And she
was looking forward to having a friend too."
Rose really didn't have any friends her own age before meeting us and even then there
was only Elaine… which wasn't that much.
She was actually quite expecting to have a friend of her own age like Kuroka.
I took a sip of the tea. "Hmm, a bit more sugar will do, I guess. How many for you?" I
asked, looking at the dumbfounded girl who was staring back at me.
"What?"
"How much sugar?" I asked.
"Eh… two… two spoons of sugar." She replied, making me raise an eyebrow. "What? I
like my drinks sweet." She protested.
I shrugged, adding two spoons of sugar in that cup.
…That's just sugar syrup at this point.
She took the tea in her hand and then let out a smirk. "So, what's this you want to talk
about… this real me?"
"You are going to be a member of our team from now on and I would like to know more
about you. What's it called?… Ah, yes, Team Bonding."
"Oh, then what do you want to ask me? My type, three sizes, favourite kind of food?"
"Hmm, let's start with a basic introduction, our likes, dislikes, dreams for the future and
hobbies, I guess." I shrugged.
She just looked at me and then actually leaned on the rock behind her too and then
spoke. "Umm, then why don't you start with an example."
I stared at the girl and nodded "I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes
and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of
hobbies…"
Congratulations Traveller.
You have discovered another secret!
Traveller.
A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.
25 to all stats.
50% to Exp Gained.
Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller
discovers in the world.
Reward: Skill: Thousand Years of Death
"...what?"
I burst out laughing both at the reward and Kuroka's reaction. "I am sorry I couldn't help
but mess around. Now you understand how it feels being on the wrong side of insincere
conversation partners. So, let's avoid that in future, alright?"
Fucking Hell!
Thousand Years of Death!
What the hell?
I checked the description of the list and my face blanched.
Thousand Years of Death [Level 1/50[Exp.: 0/1000]
A Skill used by famous ninjas including the Sixth and Seventh Hokages, the
Thousand Years of Death ignores the defence of the enemy and knocks them
away a great distance from the shock of the attack, stunning them.
Damage: 500% Attack Damage. 5 metres knockback distance. 5 Seconds of Stun
Time.
Increases the Damage by 10%, knockback distance by .1m every level and Stun
Time by 1 Second every 5 levels.
That's… fucking broken.
Especially that freaking Stun Time.
At max level, wouldn't that keep someone stunned for 15 Seconds?
There is a freaking Defence Ignore for the Skill too.
But… ughh… I wouldn't be able to show my face in public if I used that skill in front of
anyone. It was basically a one way ticket to Social Death.
How was that a reward, dammit? It was a blatant trap.
Kuroka broke out of her surprise and pouted. "Alright alright, you have made a point."
"Glad you understand. Now, to begin for real. My name is Arthur Strauss, eighteen
years old, oh, almost nineteen, I guess. I like Calligraphy, Video Games and training, I
guess. I dislike sleeping in sleeping bags, bitter food, goblins and rhinos. As for my
dreams for the future? I guess I want to get out of this game with my friends safely first.
Anything else comes after that. So? How about you?" I asked.
"Hmm, Arthur Strauss… Arthas… I get it. Nicely done there. I just went with whatever
came in my mind first."
"Kurumi is a good name too." I offered remembering a red eyed crazy chick from my
memories. Oh, they do have some similarities too.
"Oh so sweet. Hmm. My likes? I like sweet food, being free and oh yes… eating up cute
guys like you." She smirked, licking her lips.
I snorted at this. "Really? Not giving up even now?"
"What? You don't believe me?" She asked, looking offended.
"Obviously. Such blatant lies never work, you know. At least try harder if you don't want
to say anything or just say so. I am not exactly forcing you to talk here."
"What lie, did I say?" She asked curiously, this time. She was actually listening.
"Hmm first. You claim to like sweet things and yet you haven't taken even a single sip of
the tea I gave you. Are you really that afraid of me poisoning you? Trust me, with our
level difference, I would need just two attacks to take you down and you won't be able
to do anything to me. Not even escape. If you don't believe me, I can take a sip and
show you."
To her credit, she looked a little abashed at being called out.
"Next… eating up guys like me? Darling, you try too hard. You smell so virgin that if you
were to actually try anymore, I will have to wear a face mask to stay in your presence."
…
The girl's mouth hung open at the unexpected counter and she just stared at me without
saying anything for a while until I spoke once more, waking her up from her daze.
"Close your mouth. There are flies around at night."
…flies.
Seriously. This was one detail I didn't want the Game Master to add in this world.
Inside the tent, we used insect repellants made by Veena to keep them away but
outside… yeah, that didn't work that well outside anymore.
"What?!"
"Oh, was I not making it clear? Should I repeat?" I asked.
"You think I don't have any experience?" She asked again.
"No… I know you are inexperienced. In fact, if I had to guess, I would bet that you
haven't even had your first kiss yet. Oh and kissing foreheads and cheeks don't count."
In return, she spluttered to reply but actually couldn't find anything solid to say here.
"Your tea is getting cold, you know." I spoke again and this time however instead of
replying, she pulled up the cup to her mouth and took a big gulp of the… sugar syrup.
I refuse to call that tea.
This was something she immediately regretted as she immediately spit out everything.
"Yeah, two spoons was a bit too much, I guess?"
"That's not it. It was too hot, dammit."
"Ah… well, blow on it next time. You know, the type you usually do." I smirked once
more as the girl huffed.
"You seem to be quite experienced. With the Princess inside the tent? She didn't seem
like it, to be honest."
"I will neither confirm nor deny anything. It's not my place to speak about her private
matters here." I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"Tch, no fun."
"...seriously. So what do you think all this was?"
"Okay, so you want to know more about me. Good, I will tell you. My name is Kuroka. I
was born as a Nekoshou… umm, a rare type of youkai. Both my younger sister Shirone
and I were born and raised in the Underworld where I was recruited by a High Class
Devil to become his Bishop and became a Reincarnated Devil. Later I had some…
disagreements with that Devil and killed him, becoming a Stray Devil. I am very
dangerous, you know? An SS Rank Stray Devil. So… scared of taking me on your team
now?" She asked, raising her eyebrow but this time… there was a look of slight
hesitation in her eyes.
It wasn't something people would notice that easily at normal times.
As much as I had tried to play down her acting skills in this conversation, Kuroka was a
very skilled actress, especially when hiding her emotions.
This temporary lapse was probably due to the repeated shocks in the past few minutes
and to some extent also due to my own high stats which made it easy to catch this flaw.
Knowing what I did about her, I made a split second decision and scoffed. "Nah… you
are too weak. And what's that SS Rank for? Super Sexless? Then yes, that does suit
you." I laughed.
"Hahahaha that guy thought that too."
"Well, there is a difference between us."
"Oh, what's the difference?" She asked, challengingly but there was actual interest in
her voice this time.
"I know how to treat my teammates so that they don't backstab me." I shrugged.
This answer however made her freeze almost imperceptibly.
I however continued in a casual tone. "So? Why did you do it?"
She narrowed her eyes, but then took that 'mean girl' persona again. "I killed him to test
my strength."
My lips twitched as I remembered something and couldn't help but say. "Yes yes, Miss
Itachi. Is Sasuke doing fine?"
"What?"
"Nothing." I let out a sigh. "I know this is a bit personal and you don't want to answer it.
After all, it's your choice and I will respect the decision you make but please… don't lie."
"Hmph, what makes you think I am lying?" She asked, narrowing her eyes again.
"Because it doesn't add up."
"What?"
"Everything I have heard about the incident… just doesn't add up. Most of all… you
don't seem to be the type of person who would do such a thing for such a… dumb
reason. You are not that much of a fool."
"Oh and what do you know about me?"
"Hmm well first of all, you were already getting plenty of… hmm, shall we call it…
measurements in the Rating Games so going after your Boss which would get you
hunted by the entire Underworld… yeah, that's not a good enough reason for a sane
person and you… haven't shown even a single sign that you have any kind of clinical
insanity in the time I have seen you. Believe me I know. My parents got me checked for
it too." They actually did have me put through some tests to identify my exact condition.
Some of these tests could also be used to identify signs of insanity in people.
"Your parents did what now?"
"I had difficulty expressing any kind of emotion as a kid." I explained briefly.
"Doesn't look like that to me."
"Yes. I have been forced to be more… in tune with my emotions inside this… world."
Who knew the cure of my condition would be to hammer down a trauma with an even
greater trauma? "Anyways, we are not talking about me right now. Second reason is
Gasper." I continued.
"What about Gaspy? I saved him because it would get me an easy in with the
Gremorys. Everyone knows how much the Lucifer dotes on his little sister. Saving one
of the peerage members of the same girl would get me a long way to get pardoned.
Being on the run all the time can get a bit tiring after all."
"Hmm, valid point. Please correct me if I am not wrong but, isn't your own sister also a
part of the same girl's peerage?" I said, making her freeze.
"And what of it?"
"Hmm, nothing. Just thought it was a very good coincidence that saving a kid could also
be used to mend your relations with your only living family member who is also
coincidentally trapped in a death game orchestrated by an uber strong God. Small
world, isn't it?"
She just frowned.
"Come on, darling. We decided to put aside the mean girl act when we started this
conversation, didn't we?"
"What makes you think I am lying? I could just be using them to get what I wanted."
"...seriously." I deadpanned at her. "Once more, you are trying too hard, dear. Tell me,
do you know how long you were in the same room with Veena and Gasper yesterday?"
"I don't know. Fifteen minutes to an hour. I wasn't paying attention."
"Thirty five minutes."
"Do you know how many times you looked at Gasper in that time?"
"I…"
"Fifty six times."
"Wha…"
"And even in that, you only looked towards him during conversations twelve times. The
other forty four times were sneak peeks through the corner of your eyes or while making
sure none of us were noticing. I must say, you certainly did your best to make it so that
we didn't notice it all."
By now she was staring at me as if I was some kind of a ghost.
"You know that Skill I used during the tournament which allows me to know things even
when my eyes are closed? Yeah… that one. It works indoors too. I have been observing
you since the first time we met. After all, Rose had just been kidnapped while Veena
narrowly escaped one. I didn't want to let my guard down. What can you say?
Heightened stats and a good eye for detail can make you see much more than others." I
shrugged lightly.
"That doesn't prove anything." She defended again. "Are you sure you are not from the
supernatural side of things anywhere?"
Seriously, what even was the point of trying so hard.
"Totally. I told you didn't I? That I had problems expressing my emotions as a kid. You
see, I have always been… more mature than my age. And seeing my parents losing
their sleep worrying over me like that… it didn't sit right with me. What can I say, I have
always been a very kind guy. So, to assuage them of their worries… I started
pretending. Wearing a mask, just like you are doing right now. And believe me, I went in
hard at that. I was much better than you but… as good as I was, they are my parents
and they caught me in moments. While they did feel my intentions of assuring them, it
also hurt them thinking that it was their worries which had pushed me to do such a
thing. We talked about it and since then we, started to accept my condition much
better."
This was actually completely true. My family has been much closer since that day.
"So, believe me when I say… these masks…they only make things worse. Open up and
you will see that solving your problems… might be much easier than you thought. Oh
and one more thing. If someone like me could see through your mask, then there is no
way in the nine hells Veena didn't notice any of that. I guess that's why she sent you out
with us to hunt while she questions Gasper alone to get more detail. Oh yeah, it wasn't
to take care of you in the forest or anything. So you can stop your act now." I laughed.
Kuroka just stared at me for a while. "Okay, you are not from the Supernatural side. I
know that now."
"Oh, how did you come to that conclusion?"
"There are no nine hells, only one Underworld divided into many parts. People on the
Supernatural side don't use that term."
"Oh, not even seven heavens?"
"No, that's real."
"Huh, I guess you learn a new thing everyday."
"So… what now?" She asked, feeling strangely relaxed.
"What? We were introducing ourselves for some team bonding. I merely pointed out
how you were not being serious there. I never have and will never force you to tell me
anything you don't want to. My only request is that you do not lie to me. Also, just for
your sake, don't use that mask of yours. It's bad. Your acting sucks." I laughed.
"Hmph, as if you know about acting." She smiled too, taking another sip of the now cold
tea… oh, sugar syrup. That was not tea.
Next came some casual conversation.
Although she didn't open up about everything, she was surprisingly frank in this
conversation. We talked about many types of things.
The Underworld from her perspective.
Veena has always lived in the upper society of the Underworld since birth. Not to
mention that she has been alive since the time of the Great War. Her views and
experiences of the Underworld were completely different from Kuroka's.
It was a… learning experience to know about the lives of the normal people of the
Underworld. Even the Devil territory didn't just have Devils in the underworld but many
other races, although fewer in numbers than Devils.
Apart from that, Kuroka told me many stories about different factions which she had
travelled as a Stray Devil and it was quite a broad range of experience to say the least.
I also told her about how not all members of the Guild knew about the Supernatural side
of things and to keep it a secret from others, for now at least.
She agreed, having already had the experience of keeping such things hidden before.
"The ones who know about the Supernatural side of things in the Guild? Hmm, I guess
that would be Veena, Rose, Bina and me and oh… Elaine. She is a mage in our Guild."
"Elaine?" She asked.
"Elaine Wescott, is a magician from the Golden Dawn working for the…"
"Pendragon Family. She is in your Guild too?" She asked as she checked the list of
players in the Guild menu.
"Hmm, we recruited her a while ago after we saved her from some bandits. You know
her?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.
"We have…. encountered each other before. Not really acquaintances, just someone I
recognised. The Wescotts were big names in the Magical society." She shrugged.
…
"Hmm, and yet she was treated as a maid by the Pendragons, even going so far as to
consider her of lower class. I wonder what the Golden Dawn organisation had to say
about that?"
"Probably nothing. While the Wescott name is famous… it's just that… only famous.
They don't have the power they used to have back in the day. The Pendragons on the
other hand have a much older history and still possess several of the artifacts which
were used by the Pendragon family and their retainers back in the day. Sure many of
them were taken away by the Church but even they don't push the Pendragons too
hard, in fear of completely driving them away."
"So the Golden Dawn doesn't do anything because… it's not worth it?"
"Exactly. Not to mention, the current Golden Dawn is not the one still under the
Wescotts. Its leaders have changed. Everyone loves power and no one wants to let the
power in their hands slip. Elaine is a very talented mage no doubt and could one day
enter the ranks of Ultimate Class, a monumental feat for humans mind you." She
stressed this part quite hard.
In fact, a conversation with Veena earlier had made me understand how narrow minded
the anime and the novels had made us about the power level of this world.
Even now I remember no one even bothering with the High Class power level,
considering them lowest of the lowest, but that was only due to the constant comparison
with the top levels of the world.
It's like comparing the top ranker of a local university with the top scientific minds of the
world and calling him trash for not being able to match up to them.
The reality however is that even that person was still above 99.99999% of all beings in
the world.
A being who could wipe out an entire mountain with a single attack. A similar feat takes
modern technology months to accomplish with top tier equipment.
Maybe it was probably that everyone is brave when behind a keyboard, but only when
we stand in the presence of such beings do we understand the difference in levels, and
come to appreciate their power?
Veena had also said the same thing as Kuroka right now. Reaching Ultimate Class was
a monumental feat for humans, normal humans at least.
Sacred Gears could be used to cheat the System but even then, only Longinus users
could cross that line so easily. There were the rarest of rare cases, anomalies like Vasco
Strada but one or two people in seven to eight billion… with all the help from Church
and Heaven… and yet… through several centuries, he was just one of his kind… Yes,
the world monumental was no exaggeration for this.
Kuroka however continued, unaware of the things I was thinking.
"Elaine Wescott could have become one of the leaders again. Obviously many people
didn't want that so… they sent her to a dead end job. To bring Ley Fay Pendragon to be
a part of Golden Dawn. The Pendragons obviously disagreed, and only ever agreed to
associate their name with the Magician Organisation, when Elaine went there as a maid
and tutor for Ley Fay Pendragon herself. This single move served to remove her from
the running of the next leaders of the Golden Dawn as even when she came back,
people could question her loyalty as she had been the servant of the Pendragons. Dirty
Politics. Bastards tch." She clicked her tongue, annoyed.
"...for someone who is just an acquaintance, you seem to know an awful lot about her."
"I collected information about Arthur Pendragon and everyone around him as a part of a
job I did in the past." She shrugged easily.
This time I didn't even know if she was lying or telling the Truth.
"Oh… you really know a lot about people, don't you?"
"Eh, I just do what I do. But enough about me. Let's talk about you now. How exactly did
you find out about the supernatural side of things?"
"...hmm… that's a long story." I thought for a moment about how to say it out without
shocking her more than she already was for today.
- Akeno Himejima -
"Take Cover!" Naotsugu-kun shouted, breaking their shocked gazes as all of them
quickly ducked behind the carriage as they braced themselves for the crash of the
attack.
The icicles shattered creating a mini storm of sorts which swept the area.
The Knights quickly put their shields up behind the carriages as they held the carriages
in place to resist the Ice Magic's aftermath.
It lasted for several seconds but when the attack was over they took a moment to look
through the cracks of the carriage in front of them but couldn't see anything as the entire
place was covered with ice.
That attack… it was beyond anything she had yet seen in the game. If it were the
outside world, it would easily be an attack from a High Class Devil.
What tier was it in the game world? T5? T6? Or maybe something higher?
While none of their team members had reached T5 yet, she had seen T5 Knights and
monsters during the raids and even when she had visited the Knight's Academy with
Arthur and Naotsugu-kun. In fact, the lead Knight of their group was a T5 too but none
of them were even near this level. That only meant T6 or above.
Just who were these people?
T6 and above would be the same as the City Lord and higher but those people don't
just appear anywhere.
"Who are these people? You said something about Archmage Antony or something…
who's that?" Naotsugu-kun asked the lead Knight who was looking at the duo who were
walking towards their group at a casual pace.
"Keep your guard up. The enemies are not all gone." One of the Knights who had
climbed the carriage to check the scene on the other side warned loudly before
crouching slightly, dogging an arrow.
The lead Knight however didn't pay attention to them and quickly ran towards the old
man and the young blonde girl and quickly kneeled formally in front of them.
"Archmage Antonidas, Lady Proudmoore."
The old man just looked at him casually and then around the scene, his eyes landing on
the kids for a while as his eyes narrowed and then his gaze shifted towards the
carriages… no, it was almost as if he was looking beyond the carriages at the attackers.
"What is going on here? Who are the people attacking you?" He asked calmly but the
authority in his voice was unshakable. The girl on the other hand just walked forward
and checked on the kids, even offering some potions to some of them who were injured
in the attack.
Mari and the rest were already there, helping with the healing and the only reason she
was here was because she had to hold on the line of defense.
The lead Knight explained the situation quickly, making the old man frown.
He raised his staff as the carriages moved aside making a way in the ice towards the
other group.
It was only then that the other side was finally revealed for their eyes. On the other side,
the scene looked completely different from moments before.
Several people were gravely injured. Most of the attackers, especially ones who were of
the lower tiers were frozen solid by the attack and more than half of them had their
bodies then shattered into pieces.
In the fallen pieces, she even recognised several members of the Black Fiends group.
Although not everyone was dead.
Several of the attacking Knights were still alive with the leader of the Black Fiends
behind him. Everyone looked scared out of their minds probably by the destruction
caused by the previous magic.
"Who is the leader among your group?" The old man asked. His voice was calm and
soft but it still echoed throughout the field, carrying an unquestionable tone of authority
which no one wanted to question.
There was however no reply for a moment after which, the same person, the Sword
Knight from the enemies side who had ordered the attack previously.
He stood up staggeringly, throwing aside someone he had held as a shield… who was
coincidentally a Shield Knight… and while at normal times, she might have been
amused at the irony of the situation, all she felt at this moment was rage.
That bastard had almost driven them all to death.
"Y-y-you! Do you know who you have attacked? We are the Knights of Lord Falkner.
You will not escape this crime so easily. You will be chased by the entire Kingdom and
hunted down like dogs!" The man shouted deliriously.
Akeno noticed that the man was missing a leg below his knee and was bleeding heavily
from there.
"Oh my? That would be quite troublesome. After all, at my age, it is a bit inconvenient to
run around." The old man joked around casually. "Jaina, dear… could you tell me who
this Falkner person is? Maybe my age is catching up to me as I am failing to remember
such a person?"
The blonde woman who had by now come to his side replied. "The only Falkner I know
in this Kingdom is Gilford Falkner. He is an Arcane Knight under the Magic Tower."
"Yes. My lord Gilbur Falkner is the son of Lord Gilford Falkner. You attacked us and
killed his men. You will never escape this place alive." The man kept shouting madly.
"That fool…" The lead Knight on their side cursed under his breath. "He doesn't
recognise the Archmage."
It was another Knight beside him who refuted. "Captain, I doubt most Knights of our
rank would recognise him. Even I only knew who he was after hearing his name from
your mouth and that too because you always tell us the story about meeting him when
you get drunk."
"Umm, who is he?" She couldn't help but ask. "Actually, who are those two people… if
you don't mind me asking?"
"He is Archmage Antonidas, one of the leaders of the Magic Tower. A T8 Archmage.
The woman beside him is Lady Jaina Proudmoore, the princess of the nearby Kheadel
Kingdom. She is the apprentice of the Archmage. Those fools have no idea who they
are cursing at. Even Gilford Falkner can only kneel in the presence of the Archmage,
both being the part of the Magic Tower as Gilford is an Arcane Knight… It's only that the
Archmage is his superior in the organisation. They have messed with the absolute last
person they should."
"Serves them right. I seriously thought people were trying to spread rumours about his
bad habits to affect Lord Falkner's reputation and that's why I had mostly ignored it but
to think they were being this blatant about the whole thing. It's worse than bandits."
Another Knight cursed.
His sentiment was shared by many, especially after watching one of their comrades
nearly dying and having escaped death by such a small margin themselves.
As they were talking, the whole scene on the other side was on its end too.
Those foolish Knights had attacked the old man… Archmage Antonidas not
understanding the difference in their levels. She did hear that Scan Type Skills only
worked for two or below tiers above the user's Tier. So a T5 Sword Knight like him
wouldn't even be able to see the stats of class of the Archmage.
Meanwhile, the Princess was wearing some kind of equipment which prevented her
stats from being seen by others with Scan or similar skills.
Safe to say that they were crushed one-sidedly. It was only then that she realised that
the previous spell was cast by the Princess alone and not the Archmage himself.
In front of the Archmage, they didn't even have the chance to take two full steps before
they were on the ground, unconscious and tied up.
The Archmage looked at the lead Knight of their group.
"Could I please inconvenience you to arrest them all, maybe drop them off at the next
town to be judged?"
"Umm, Lord Antonidas… we could… these people are criminals who even tried to
attack you. If we have your permission… we can take care of them here. No need to
bring them anywhere." One of the Knights offered.
The Archmage however shook his head. "I stopped them because I saw these people
attacking a group with children, whom you all were clearly trying to protect. They even
rejected the chance to talk and attacked the knight who tried to communicate. This
alone is enough to show they were not carrying out some kind of justice. But as much
as I want to, it is not my authority to punish them for their crimes. The Magic Tower
remains neutral from the internal affairs of any Kingdom. So you can only take them to
the nearby city to be judged. Don't worry. You don't need to fear retaliation from anyone.
It just so happens that I have a meeting with an old friend of mine in the city. I will
personally put in my name as the one who did this and request that they be punished
appropriately for their crimes."
"We thank you, Lord Antonidas." They agreed to the man's request… which was more
or less their only option at this moment.
Even if they left, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be chased by the people of
Viscount Falkner for revenge.
Not to mention that their carriages were mostly destroyed. Only two of them were barely
working so they had no choice but to find a way to get help in the nearest town.
It didn't take them long to get packed. Even the Knights took over the horses of the
enemy and tied the prisoners behind them.
All the children somehow adjusted on the two carriages with the rest of the group
surrounding the carriages as they proceeded slowly towards the next town.
The kids were still a bit shaken from the incident before but were somehow holding on
with Mari and her assurances. To her surprise, even the Princess was trying to keep the
kids calm, telling them stories of distant lands.
Akeno took the chance to talk with her while in the same carriage. She found out that
the Princess was actually a T6 High Sorceress and was studying at the Magic Tower's
Headquarters under Archmage Antonidas.
She was here to accompany her teacher to meet someone, whom she didn't mention.
Akeno didn't ask any further.
The Princess was quite easy to talk to and Akeno took this chance to ask her about the
Mage Class as there would be very few people who could match her in knowledge.
Even a bit of information about the Class Advancement would be like a boon for them.
From her, she found out that the Mage Class has two main routes which people
generally take.
These were the High Mage Route or the Sorcerer route.
In the first route, a Mage concentrated more on combat magic and became High Mage,
a T5 Class.
High Mage is mainly focused on Elemental Magic.
To advance further, a High Mage has to master three spells of two different Elements
each and then do the Class Advancement Quest.
A High Mage would then become a T6 Master Mage. After that came Grand Mage and
then finally the level which her teacher was at, Archmage.
For the Sorcerer route, it was more focused on field control.
The tree for that went from Mage to a Sorcerer, then High Sorcerer, Grand Sorcerer and
then Sage.
Akeno was more interested in Elemental Magic before but now she was thinking if she
should become a healer instead.
Their group didn't have any healers and that could be a big problem in the future.
Princess Jaina was kind enough to give her some good advice on magic related studies
and what to do to prepare for the Class Advancement Quests.
She also found out that they were here on some personal matters and thus they forbade
her group from speaking about them with anyone without their permission.
It was safe to say that no one denied it.
Who could, after seeing that display of power from before?
Moreover, now that she understood more about the Archmage, she understood exactly
how up he exactly was in the grand scheme of things. A person on the same level as
the King of this Kingdom…
It was on the evening of the same day that they reached the nearby city.
Mari, Akatsuki-chan and she quickly gathered the group and took the kids to the inn to
live for the night while Arthur and Naotsugu went to find a way to get the carriages fixed
or at least find a way to rent new carriages for the rest of their journey.
The City was named Moonshade and was a mid-sized city, one grade higher than their
previous one.
Accordingly, the prices of things were a little higher than they had been in their town.
They realised this when they got accomodation in the Inn for everyone.
It was around twenty percent higher than before.
"Do you think we should sell some of our products here to make money? The
destruction of the carriages has caused us some losses." Mari asked, worried, unlike
her usual cheerful self. Even the usually stoic Akatsuki-chan looked quieter than normal.
"We managed to salvage some things from the wreckage of the enemies and they can
be sold for a decent price. Apart from that, the horses we got can also be sold so we
can more than make up for the losses in the attack."
"Hmm. Then Arthur and you can go and check where we can sell them off. We will keep
an eye on the kids in the meantime."
"Alright."
They discussed the next plan of action while Arthur and Naotsugu-kun also came back
and they found out that the earliest the carriages could be fixed was three days and that
was with some extra payment.
But they wanted to get away as soon as possible so they agreed to this condition.
After the discussion, they had dinner and put the kids to bed. They had been very
scared after last night's incident and exhausted from the days of travel.
Getting a proper bed was like a boon at this point so all of them fell asleep quickly.
x_
"Just two hundred and thirty five thousand for all this is too low." She argued.
"If it were all in good condition then it would have brought you five times more price but
this equipment is all damaged. I can only fix the less damaged ones and for the rest, I
will have to melt them off to get the metal, no different from scrap metal. This price is
more than enough for this much."
She let out an internal sigh. It's not like she didn't know that. This was the fifth shop they
had visited and this was the best price already. She looked at Arthur and both nodded at
each other before agreeing to the price.
"This with the three hundred and eighty thousand from selling other loot will be more
than enough to get the carriages fixed and even get two new ones. Too bad we couldn't
take the mission reward." Akatsuki-chan said from the side lightly.
Mission reward…
Who knew that it wasn't those people's first time raiding this territory. They often
kidnapped and sold people from here as slaves, something which was highly illegal in
this country.
They had high bounties on their heads.
Unfortunately they couldn't claim it as they were not captured by their group but rather
by Archmage Antonidas and Princess Jaina Proudmoore who handed them over to the
Knights. Thankfully, their names were kept completely out of the whole mess to prevent
them from getting targeted later.
As they walked out of the shop, towards the place where carriages were made, she
bumped into someone around the corner of the street. The voice made her instantly
realise the identity of the person in front of her. The same girl who had accompanied
them to this city was in front of her with another man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Princes… I mean Miss Jaina."
x_
x_
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Author's Note:
I am back with another chapter of 'Soul Art Online'.
I will be honest, I wasn't expecting the conversation with Kuroka to drag on for so
long.
I was in a flow and it kept on becoming longer.
Anyways, I will try to increase the pace of the next few chapters to catch up to
some good stuff once more.
We have had enough character development chapters for now.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.