In a small but bustling city built in a lush valley between mountains, Sion and Aurora were inside the local Adventurers' Guild, checking on the commissions they could take. The building was like a pub, with many adventurers sitting around round tables, playing cards, drinking, or exchanging information, causing a loud hubbub. Looking around, most people were mostly beast-folk, humans making up only the minority as the city itself was connected to the House of Nerifit.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" A kind voice asked the pair, coming from a young woman standing next to them. She wore prim and proper attire consisting of a white blouse and a short, black skirt. Her rose-colored hair was kept in a bun between her tall fox ears while she fixed her glasses, smiling like an enchantress.
"W-we are good, thank you!" Sion stuttered, being elbowed by Aurora as he was staring at the heavy weapons the fox girl was carrying under her blouse.
"I see. Well, if you need help, please, just ask! We are always happy to set you straight~! I mean the newcomers!" She giggled, and while turning around, her fluffy tail brushed past Sion. She was charmingly wiggling her butt while walking away, even looking back at him over her shoulders as she returned to her post.
"Eyes are up here." Aurora signed, clasping Sion's head and turning it towards the wall with dozens of notices pinned to it. "You are too easily distracted."
"Sorry… it's her scent." Sion murmured as it was true… the young fox-girl who was the receptionist here had a lovely scent that reminded Sion about his mother and early childhood.
"Pinch your nose then! Pervert."
"Sorry."
"I think we should move on! This city is not really providing anything we are looking for."
"Not that we could take high-risk jobs without proper reputation," Sion answered, scanning the multiple handwritten or printed notes.
There were too many adventurer groups and guilds to count around Meriath. There were times when there was an official grading of adventurers, some places were still using it today, but most regions worked on a reputation-based system. When a group made a name for itself, getting jobs, tips, or personal requests was much easier than when they were starting out. All the powerful, famous groups were not looking for work in guilds. The client contacted them directly, and they worked out the details between themselves, skipping the guilds altogether.
"Should we check another city?" Sion asked, and Aurora nodded after a brief thinking. When they left, they were aiming to collect Koa, who went to the city's most prominent inn, saying she would gather information. Of course, they all knew she went to have fun and flirt a little.
"I can't believe her harem is fine with it," Aurora grumbled.
"It's Koa." Sion shrugged, "She flirts, but so far, I am pretty sure she only went to bed with those she recruited into her harem."
"It's something… Well, each to his own! If they are fine with it... Let's gather that loose woman, and let's head back! I am sure Lorin has already arrived, and we are only waiting on Opparu and Rinzen! With the latter amongst us, it is going to be much easier to find something worthy of us!"
"What, finding Miss Tickleberry, the lost kitty, is not good enough for you?" Sion teased her with a wide grin receiving a blank stare from Aurora.
"Please… we are Tier 5 mages… our group, by that alone, ranks as the cream of the top in the whole Realm! Show me another group that can provide that kind of strength! Most adventurers are at Tier 3! That foxy was also drawn to you because she was one! She felt the power coming from you! She wanted your techniques, not your body!"
"My little jealous oriole~!" Sion laughed, leaning in and kissing her while holding Aurora by her waist.
"Not that I would have let her try." She explained it with her eyes after their lips parted.
"Right out in the open? Finally, girl!" Appeared Koa out of nowhere, slapping Aurora on the butt.
"At least we are dressed up." She retorted, rubbing her backside while Sion just chuckled, watching the two.
Aurora was not wrong; Koa was wearing an exceptionally short skirt and a tiny corset that barely reached below her breasts. The rest of her deeply tanned body was completely exposed for all to see. Not that anybody would complain about it because Koadriana's athletic body was something that always made people's heads turn.
"By the way!" Koa ignored her with a grin, "I found something! Unlike you!"
"Why do you think we did not?" Aurora shot back, but Koa just grimaced at her.
"Suuuure~ I am not naive, girly!"
"Okay, okay!" Sion stepped in, grabbing the two by the shoulder, pushing them towards the city's entrance so they would leave and start traveling back home. They had to go through a thick jungle anyway, and he was ready to take a bath back home as the humid, hot air here was killing him. "So, what did you find?"
"A clue!" Koa started excitedly, "I was speaking to a guy who has been living here for the past 200 years, and there is an old ruin not far from here. A place that is said to be protected by ancient magic!"
"We are living in an old ruin." Aurora wrote immediately, "I hope he was not talking about that."
"Nope! He says this is truly ancient! From before the Dark Ages!"
"Yeah… Sure." The two said at once as something like that would be already under one of the Houses' attention. Or it was already explored to its fullest.
"I thought the same." Koa continued, unbothered by their skepticism. "But then look at this. He said this is from there!" She picked out a small piece of jade. "It's only half of something; you can see the rough edges where it was broken into two."
"And?" Sion asked, but Aurora's eyes quickly focused on it, thinking, and then her violet eyes flashed with understanding.
"Razael brought home jades like this!"
"Exactly!" Koadriana giggled, "They were devices recording old messages! This one is broken and useless, but it's good enough proof for me that there has to be a ruin that predates our civilization!"
"And if it's connected to the past, it can be connected to Undead." Koa finished her reasoning proudly. "Even if it's not, even if it turns out to be a dud, it wouldn't hurt to explore it!"
"True…" Sion agreed, scratching his chin, "Even if the Six checked it, it might have happened thousands of years ago! It won't hurt to do it again!"
"Good find." Aurora nodded as they left the city, disappearing into the surrounding jungle.
…
….
……
The Misfits, back in their fortress a few days later, were having a lavish dinner, and Lia was happily recounting their time at the 4th Branch to Rinzen, who had arrived only an hour ago. She felt like she was back in the Academy, having all his friends around her, and it was the best feeling.
"I miss Cici and the Silly Fox too!" After they finished with the food, she lamented loudly, slurping on a chilled cup of wine, enjoying its taste, and looking at the others.
"Cici wouldn't leave the Island, not even if you promise her the world!" Opparu laughed, patting his belly, feeling he may have eaten a bit too much. "She is tied to it by her own will."
"I am surprised you left!" Ceiline joined in, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"I wasn't connected to it like she is. I used it as my retirement home! But, you lot brought me out of it, so… here I am, back in action again! Oh well!" He joked a little, laughing.
"Speaking about that," Raufon leaned in, refilling his giant mug with wine, "How was it at your end?" He asked Rinzen, happy that she came, especially because her spells were very handy, cooling the air inside their fortress. She even managed to turn one of their dungeon rooms into a freezer.
"It was hard." She answered honestly. "Too many things. Mother allowed me to come because I am stuck... I can't advance to the tier of Three Ri…"
"Should I call my big brother over?" Lia asked, deciding to finish the dinner with some pudding, taking big spoonfuls of it. "He broke through, and he can retell his experiences!"
"Mother said everyone has to do it in their own way. She agreed that a little outing must be beneficial, so I was allowed to come."
"And the Undead?" Lorin asked, curious about how it was on the Berisons' end.
"We constantly search for them, but they are good at hiding. Us, I mean… us Six," She looked at them before continuing, "Are trying to find their main base… but it's something that is not easy to do."
"What about the Silly Fox?" Lia asked, thinking, biting the end of her spoon, "He is really experienced with No-Space! He could help!"
"He is helping." Rinzen nodded, "He uses the telescope at our old headquarters almost daily. So far, he has found three sub-realms that were known to us but now appear hidden from our eyes. We did invade them, but we found nothing substantial besides a few intelligent variants and many drones."
"At least they have a harder job now!" Keily interjected, sounding confident and fired up, "In the past, nobody believed Erias when he tried to warn them! They only took action when their armies marched on the land, swelling up to millions! Now, they can't operate so freely! The moment they are discovered, we come and destroy them!"
"The problem is time." Simbad entered the conversation, sitting with a bowl of ice cream, enjoying it to its fullest, "They have a lot of it. They know we are kinda prepared for them, so they are planting Undead drones into towns, villages. They are trying to use our own doctrine against us!"
"With burning up those places, killing everyone…" Ceiline muttered, lowering her head.
"Yes." Simbad nodded, "They are fine with that. Going by Lia's words, they get souls out of it. New recruits even! People who may feel betrayed by us, so they join up much more easily! Nobody wants to die! The bodies are unimportant to them; we have them in abundance! They can always come and occupy more…"
"And worse," Lia added, "They can also play it like that, trimming our numbers and looking for using our own hands in killing us."
"It is a real problem." Rinzen agreed, "We Six have also been meeting about it frequently. We already encountered multiple cases where it was clear they planted some Undead just so we would come in and destroy the place… out of paranoia."
"But if we don't…" Keily spoke up, finding the crux of the problem.
"They can still infiltrate and then turn the place into their nest for real!" Lia moaned, feeling a headache creeping in. Or… it may be because of the cold wine she was having her second glass of. "It's not a bad spot to be in!"
"Well…!" Raufon clapped, drawing everyone's eyes onto himself, "We don't need to worry about that right now! We ought to focus on what WE can do right here and right now!"
"Cheers!" Lia giggled, raising her glass, and the others followed suit. "Speaking of that, Koa, are you sure about your source?"
"Yep! 100%!"
"Good, then we will start preparing tomorrow and check it out! We should only be away for… a week? Maximum."
"We will take care of the place until then!" Lorin promised while Lia smiled happily.
"Shishi and Louise should arrive soon enough; they will also help organize everything and get our fort up and running at full capacity! We will set it up in a way so we don't need to micro-manage everything!"
"Good~!" Koa grinned, feeling sleepy, starting to prod Keily with her leg under the table, probably because she drank even more than Raufon. "I like the freedom of being an adventurer!"
"You like too much freedom." Aurora snapped at her, especially after catching Keily's face turning red, but Koa simply stuck her tongue out.
"Let's get some rest!" Lia stood up, ending their dinner with a satisfied grin. It is good to be back with all of you!"
After everyone returned to their rooms, Lia was stretching pleasantly, starting to get undressed so she could wash up before going to sleep, when she heard a familiar poofing sound.
"Err… did I come at the wrong time?" The voice asked, but Lia just turned around, half-dressed, half-undressed, and jumped at the figure of Lucian.
"Teehee! Silly Fox! Owie!" She yelped as Lucian's knuckle landed on the top of her head.
"That is the first thing you say to me? What kind of student are you?"
"Ehehehe~ Not-that-silly-silly-fox? Owie! Stoooop~ I don't want to get stupid!" She rubbed her head.
"Don't worry, you can't. You are already at rock bottom."
"Nooooo, I am not!" Lia grumbled, pursing her lips like a chipmunk. "Bully!"
"Yes, I am. What are you going to do about it?"
"Tell my mom!"
"Go ahead." Lucian chortled, and his eyes were filled with warmness, seeing Lia grow up in more ways than one yet retaining her childish playfulness. Too many high-ranking mages forget to smile after going through hardships. "I came because you sent a message. You wrote that it was important and had to talk to me personally!"
"Here!" She rushed to her footlocker, rummaging a little before pulling out a thick notebook. "This!" She pressed it into his hands. "I wrote up everything I know! I want you to read, study, and show it to Somia!"
"Mhm." He nodded, taking it, looking at her handwriting. As his eyes scanned the first page, they shrank a little. "Your mother did tell me your circumstances. I get it now! Don't worry, I can figure this out… and…" He flipped to the book's second half, filled with dozens of questions. "I bet this one is for Somia?"
"Yes!" Lia nodded, "I need answers! If she won't do it… Can you try and persuade her a little?"
"Did I become your errand boy now? Your personal hound, maybe?" Lucian joked, now gently hitting Lia with the spine of the notebook. "Cheeky little brat! Are you trying to seduce me too?"
"I was going to take a bath!" She moaned, feeling cheated to be hit with her own creation. "And you came late! I wanted you here by dinner! You are the cheeky one, ogling at me!"
"Sorry, many things are happening, and I sometimes need to travel worldwide. I just got back to the Academy an hour ago."
"Is it that bad?" She asked, looking into his eyes with concern.
"Not yet. But I have a lot of people I need to oversee as the Headmaster. Don't worry about it!" He smiled, rubbing her head this time. "If there is nothing else, I am going; I need some rest myself!"
"You can stay the night if you want!"
"I am going to hit you!" Lucian chuckled, flicking her forehead before teleporting away, leaving behind a smiling, happy Lia.
Corty Trending again? Woah! Guys and gals, you are something else for pushing me up there so frequently! Thank you all for reading!
In a small but bustling city built in a lush valley between mountains, Sion and Aurora were inside the local Adventurers' Guild, checking on the commissions they could take. The building was like a pub, with many adventurers sitting around round tables, playing cards, drinking, or exchanging information, causing a loud hubbub. Looking around, most people were mostly beast-folk, humans making up only the minority as the city itself was connected to the House of Nerifit.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" A kind voice asked the pair, coming from a young woman standing next to them. She wore prim and proper attire consisting of a white blouse and a short, black skirt. Her rose-colored hair was kept in a bun between her tall fox ears while she fixed her glasses, smiling like an enchantress.
"W-we are good, thank you!" Sion stuttered, being elbowed by Aurora as he was staring at the heavy weapons the fox girl was carrying under her blouse.
"I see. Well, if you need help, please, just ask! We are always happy to set you straight~! I mean the newcomers!" She giggled, and while turning around, her fluffy tail brushed past Sion. She was charmingly wiggling her butt while walking away, even looking back at him over her shoulders as she returned to her post.
"Eyes are up here." Aurora signed, clasping Sion's head and turning it towards the wall with dozens of notices pinned to it. "You are too easily distracted."
"Sorry… it's her scent." Sion murmured as it was true… the young fox-girl who was the receptionist here had a lovely scent that reminded Sion about his mother and early childhood.
"Pinch your nose then! Pervert."
"Sorry."
"I think we should move on! This city is not really providing anything we are looking for."
"Not that we could take high-risk jobs without proper reputation," Sion answered, scanning the multiple handwritten or printed notes.
There were too many adventurer groups and guilds to count around Meriath. There were times when there was an official grading of adventurers, some places were still using it today, but most regions worked on a reputation-based system. When a group made a name for itself, getting jobs, tips, or personal requests was much easier than when they were starting out. All the powerful, famous groups were not looking for work in guilds. The client contacted them directly, and they worked out the details between themselves, skipping the guilds altogether.
"Should we check another city?" Sion asked, and Aurora nodded after a brief thinking. When they left, they were aiming to collect Koa, who went to the city's most prominent inn, saying she would gather information. Of course, they all knew she went to have fun and flirt a little.
"I can't believe her harem is fine with it," Aurora grumbled.
"It's Koa." Sion shrugged, "She flirts, but so far, I am pretty sure she only went to bed with those she recruited into her harem."
"It's something… Well, each to his own! If they are fine with it... Let's gather that loose woman, and let's head back! I am sure Lorin has already arrived, and we are only waiting on Opparu and Rinzen! With the latter amongst us, it is going to be much easier to find something worthy of us!"
"What, finding Miss Tickleberry, the lost kitty, is not good enough for you?" Sion teased her with a wide grin receiving a blank stare from Aurora.
"Please… we are Tier 5 mages… our group, by that alone, ranks as the cream of the top in the whole Realm! Show me another group that can provide that kind of strength! Most adventurers are at Tier 3! That foxy was also drawn to you because she was one! She felt the power coming from you! She wanted your techniques, not your body!"
"My little jealous oriole~!" Sion laughed, leaning in and kissing her while holding Aurora by her waist.
"Not that I would have let her try." She explained it with her eyes after their lips parted.
"Right out in the open? Finally, girl!" Appeared Koa out of nowhere, slapping Aurora on the butt.
"At least we are dressed up." She retorted, rubbing her backside while Sion just chuckled, watching the two.
Aurora was not wrong; Koa was wearing an exceptionally short skirt and a tiny corset that barely reached below her breasts. The rest of her deeply tanned body was completely exposed for all to see. Not that anybody would complain about it because Koadriana's athletic body was something that always made people's heads turn.
"By the way!" Koa ignored her with a grin, "I found something! Unlike you!"
"Why do you think we did not?" Aurora shot back, but Koa just grimaced at her.
"Suuuure~ I am not naive, girly!"
"Okay, okay!" Sion stepped in, grabbing the two by the shoulder, pushing them towards the city's entrance so they would leave and start traveling back home. They had to go through a thick jungle anyway, and he was ready to take a bath back home as the humid, hot air here was killing him. "So, what did you find?"
"A clue!" Koa started excitedly, "I was speaking to a guy who has been living here for the past 200 years, and there is an old ruin not far from here. A place that is said to be protected by ancient magic!"
"We are living in an old ruin." Aurora wrote immediately, "I hope he was not talking about that."
"Nope! He says this is truly ancient! From before the Dark Ages!"
"Yeah… Sure." The two said at once as something like that would be already under one of the Houses' attention. Or it was already explored to its fullest.
"I thought the same." Koa continued, unbothered by their skepticism. "But then look at this. He said this is from there!" She picked out a small piece of jade. "It's only half of something; you can see the rough edges where it was broken into two."
"And?" Sion asked, but Aurora's eyes quickly focused on it, thinking, and then her violet eyes flashed with understanding.
"Razael brought home jades like this!"
"Exactly!" Koadriana giggled, "They were devices recording old messages! This one is broken and useless, but it's good enough proof for me that there has to be a ruin that predates our civilization!"
"And if it's connected to the past, it can be connected to Undead." Koa finished her reasoning proudly. "Even if it's not, even if it turns out to be a dud, it wouldn't hurt to explore it!"
"True…" Sion agreed, scratching his chin, "Even if the Six checked it, it might have happened thousands of years ago! It won't hurt to do it again!"
"Good find." Aurora nodded as they left the city, disappearing into the surrounding jungle.
…
….
……
The Misfits, back in their fortress a few days later, were having a lavish dinner, and Lia was happily recounting their time at the 4th Branch to Rinzen, who had arrived only an hour ago. She felt like she was back in the Academy, having all his friends around her, and it was the best feeling.
"I miss Cici and the Silly Fox too!" After they finished with the food, she lamented loudly, slurping on a chilled cup of wine, enjoying its taste, and looking at the others.
"Cici wouldn't leave the Island, not even if you promise her the world!" Opparu laughed, patting his belly, feeling he may have eaten a bit too much. "She is tied to it by her own will."
"I am surprised you left!" Ceiline joined in, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"I wasn't connected to it like she is. I used it as my retirement home! But, you lot brought me out of it, so… here I am, back in action again! Oh well!" He joked a little, laughing.
"Speaking about that," Raufon leaned in, refilling his giant mug with wine, "How was it at your end?" He asked Rinzen, happy that she came, especially because her spells were very handy, cooling the air inside their fortress. She even managed to turn one of their dungeon rooms into a freezer.
"It was hard." She answered honestly. "Too many things. Mother allowed me to come because I am stuck... I can't advance to the tier of Three Ri…"
"Should I call my big brother over?" Lia asked, deciding to finish the dinner with some pudding, taking big spoonfuls of it. "He broke through, and he can retell his experiences!"
"Mother said everyone has to do it in their own way. She agreed that a little outing must be beneficial, so I was allowed to come."
"And the Undead?" Lorin asked, curious about how it was on the Berisons' end.
"We constantly search for them, but they are good at hiding. Us, I mean… us Six," She looked at them before continuing, "Are trying to find their main base… but it's something that is not easy to do."
"What about the Silly Fox?" Lia asked, thinking, biting the end of her spoon, "He is really experienced with No-Space! He could help!"
"He is helping." Rinzen nodded, "He uses the telescope at our old headquarters almost daily. So far, he has found three sub-realms that were known to us but now appear hidden from our eyes. We did invade them, but we found nothing substantial besides a few intelligent variants and many drones."
"At least they have a harder job now!" Keily interjected, sounding confident and fired up, "In the past, nobody believed Erias when he tried to warn them! They only took action when their armies marched on the land, swelling up to millions! Now, they can't operate so freely! The moment they are discovered, we come and destroy them!"
"The problem is time." Simbad entered the conversation, sitting with a bowl of ice cream, enjoying it to its fullest, "They have a lot of it. They know we are kinda prepared for them, so they are planting Undead drones into towns, villages. They are trying to use our own doctrine against us!"
"With burning up those places, killing everyone…" Ceiline muttered, lowering her head.
"Yes." Simbad nodded, "They are fine with that. Going by Lia's words, they get souls out of it. New recruits even! People who may feel betrayed by us, so they join up much more easily! Nobody wants to die! The bodies are unimportant to them; we have them in abundance! They can always come and occupy more…"
"And worse," Lia added, "They can also play it like that, trimming our numbers and looking for using our own hands in killing us."
"It is a real problem." Rinzen agreed, "We Six have also been meeting about it frequently. We already encountered multiple cases where it was clear they planted some Undead just so we would come in and destroy the place… out of paranoia."
"But if we don't…" Keily spoke up, finding the crux of the problem.
"They can still infiltrate and then turn the place into their nest for real!" Lia moaned, feeling a headache creeping in. Or… it may be because of the cold wine she was having her second glass of. "It's not a bad spot to be in!"
"Well…!" Raufon clapped, drawing everyone's eyes onto himself, "We don't need to worry about that right now! We ought to focus on what WE can do right here and right now!"
"Cheers!" Lia giggled, raising her glass, and the others followed suit. "Speaking of that, Koa, are you sure about your source?"
"Yep! 100%!"
"Good, then we will start preparing tomorrow and check it out! We should only be away for… a week? Maximum."
"We will take care of the place until then!" Lorin promised while Lia smiled happily.
"Shishi and Louise should arrive soon enough; they will also help organize everything and get our fort up and running at full capacity! We will set it up in a way so we don't need to micro-manage everything!"
"Good~!" Koa grinned, feeling sleepy, starting to prod Keily with her leg under the table, probably because she drank even more than Raufon. "I like the freedom of being an adventurer!"
"You like too much freedom." Aurora snapped at her, especially after catching Keily's face turning red, but Koa simply stuck her tongue out.
"Let's get some rest!" Lia stood up, ending their dinner with a satisfied grin. It is good to be back with all of you!"
After everyone returned to their rooms, Lia was stretching pleasantly, starting to get undressed so she could wash up before going to sleep, when she heard a familiar poofing sound.
"Err… did I come at the wrong time?" The voice asked, but Lia just turned around, half-dressed, half-undressed, and jumped at the figure of Lucian.
"Teehee! Silly Fox! Owie!" She yelped as Lucian's knuckle landed on the top of her head.
"That is the first thing you say to me? What kind of student are you?"
"Ehehehe~ Not-that-silly-silly-fox? Owie! Stoooop~ I don't want to get stupid!" She rubbed her head.
"Don't worry, you can't. You are already at rock bottom."
"Nooooo, I am not!" Lia grumbled, pursing her lips like a chipmunk. "Bully!"
"Yes, I am. What are you going to do about it?"
"Tell my mom!"
"Go ahead." Lucian chortled, and his eyes were filled with warmness, seeing Lia grow up in more ways than one yet retaining her childish playfulness. Too many high-ranking mages forget to smile after going through hardships. "I came because you sent a message. You wrote that it was important and had to talk to me personally!"
"Here!" She rushed to her footlocker, rummaging a little before pulling out a thick notebook. "This!" She pressed it into his hands. "I wrote up everything I know! I want you to read, study, and show it to Somia!"
"Mhm." He nodded, taking it, looking at her handwriting. As his eyes scanned the first page, they shrank a little. "Your mother did tell me your circumstances. I get it now! Don't worry, I can figure this out… and…" He flipped to the book's second half, filled with dozens of questions. "I bet this one is for Somia?"
"Yes!" Lia nodded, "I need answers! If she won't do it… Can you try and persuade her a little?"
"Did I become your errand boy now? Your personal hound, maybe?" Lucian joked, now gently hitting Lia with the spine of the notebook. "Cheeky little brat! Are you trying to seduce me too?"
"I was going to take a bath!" She moaned, feeling cheated to be hit with her own creation. "And you came late! I wanted you here by dinner! You are the cheeky one, ogling at me!"
"Sorry, many things are happening, and I sometimes need to travel worldwide. I just got back to the Academy an hour ago."
"Is it that bad?" She asked, looking into his eyes with concern.
"Not yet. But I have a lot of people I need to oversee as the Headmaster. Don't worry about it!" He smiled, rubbing her head this time. "If there is nothing else, I am going; I need some rest myself!"
"You can stay the night if you want!"
"I am going to hit you!" Lucian chuckled, flicking her forehead before teleporting away, leaving behind a smiling, happy Lia.
Corty Trending again? Woah! Guys and gals, you are something else for pushing me up there so frequently! Thank you all for reading!
