Night had fallen over the old training grounds. The air was much cooler now, carrying the quiet hum of the distant city. Kaelus patiently waited for his instructor, practicing basic footwork and defense against a straw dummy using a simple wooden sword, his powerful Viridian Sword carefully sheathed at his hip.
Zane arrived at the training grounds. He wasn't in his usual functional armor; he wore the formal, dark robes of a high-ranking battle instructor.
Kaelus stopped swinging. He noticed the tightness around Zane's eyes and the slight furrow in his brow.
"You seem bothered, Mr. Zane," Kaelus ventured, lowering the wooden sword. "Is something wrong?"
Zane sighed. He sat heavily on the wooden bench. "Something is, yes. Since you are also an adventurer, I think it's okay to tell you."
Zane explained that he was a core member of an S-rank party named The Obsidian Phalanx. Their goal was to regularly venture deep into the treacherous Eastern Territory, acting as a high-level deterrent by clearing out strong monster populations.
"The problem is the Eastern Territory has changed," Zane confessed. "The monsters there are becoming stronger, faster than we can explain. Just this morning, an A-rank party we sent out returned nearly annihilated. They encountered something that shouldn't exist in that region: an armored scorpion."
He elaborated, his voice grave. "The Armored Scorpion is typically an A-rank Earth elemental monster, meaning an experienced A-rank party should be sufficient to handle it. But this one... it was mutated. It was an S-rank threat, capable of wiping them out. My party, The Obsidian Phalanx, is scheduled to depart tomorrow to deal with it."
Zane paused, looking directly at Kaelus. "I honestly don't have the same confidence in this mission that I usually do. The odds feel wrong."
"Anyways," Zane asked, abruptly changing the subject. "How did the refinement process go?"
Kaelus smiled faintly and unsheathed his weapon. The Viridian Sword gleamed under the starlight, its scaly green hilt and matching blade radiating a powerful, pure wind essence.
Zane's eyes widened, and he instinctively sat up straighter. He reached out and touched the blade's energy field, his gaze awestruck. "Incredible! So this is the true power of your artifact."
He looked back at Kaelus, his eyes intensely focused, and a new gravity entered his voice.
"Kaelus, do you want to temporarily join The Obsidian Phalanx?"
Kaelus was genuinely surprised, unable to hide his shock. "Join your S-rank party?"
"You must be wondering why I proposed it," Zane admitted. "The truth is, even I am not confident we can successfully eliminate the mutated Armored Scorpion without significant risk. But I believe with your sword, we can still give this fight a solid chance."
Zane pointed to the Viridian Sword. "That weapon is now operating at a caliber that will challenge even S-rank foes. It has immense potential, and with me by your side, I can train you to be capable enough to truly wield an artifact of this caliber. It's a risk, but it's an opportunity for both of us."
Kaelus immediately agreed. Fighting alongside the strongest party of the Dragon's Fury Guild against an S-rank monster was an unparalleled opportunity to learn and grow. "Yes, I will join."
"Good," Zane said, standing. "Given the urgent nature of the Armored Scorpion quest, we can't train tonight. I'd like to invite you to our place right now. We need to plan out our battle positions and integrate you into the squad before we leave at dawn."
Kaelus followed Zane through the quiet, torch-lit streets to the headquarters of The Obsidian Phalanx, a spacious, fortified estate.
Inside, Kaelus found himself in a large, circular strategy room. Six figures were gathered around a massive map illuminated by a central magic crystal. Their conversation immediately ceased when Zane and Kaelus entered.
Zane led Kaelus to the center of the room. "Apologies for the delay. Before we continue, I want you all to meet Kaelus. He will be temporarily joining our party for tomorrow's mission."
A moment of silence hung in the air before Zane began the introductions:
"This is Vara Shadowstep," Zane said, gesturing to the petite figure. "She is our assassin-type mage." Vara gave Kaelus a quick, assessing nod, her eyes sharp and unsettlingly still.
"Next, we have Sylva Moonshadow, an Elven Mage," Zane said, and Sylva gave a polite gesture with her hand.
"Our scout is Zathis the Swift, a Lizardman." Zathis kept his eyes closed, conveying his strong displeasure with Kaelus's presence.
"Next to him is Jian Stormheart, a Kijin warrior." Jian offered Kaelus a quiet nod.
"The anchor of our defense is Kaelan Bulkhead, a Human Tanker." Kaelan offered a genuine, large smile.
"And finally, we have Grund Stonebreaker, a Dwarf." Grund greeted him with a fierce, welcoming smile.
After the introductions, Zane repeated his initial statement: "Kaelus, an A-rank adventurer from Dragon's Fury, will be joining us temporarily for tomorrow's mission into the Eastern Territory."
Zathis immediately raised a scaled hand. "I disagree. No offense to the young lad here, but even though the more members the better, we can't just take someone who isn't an S-rank adventurer. We could coordinate with other affiliated guilds. We can't afford to take a burden with us."
Kaelan rumbled in his deep voice. "I agree, leader. Even though Zathis's words are harsh, he is right about this. Only S-rank adventurers are officially allowed to take on this quest, and while we are all S-rank and capable of protecting him, we can't guarantee his safety by the end of the journey."
Zane listened attentively, his gaze calm. He then looked at the elven member. "Sylva, do you have something to say?"
Sylva gave a wry smile. "Knowing you, Zane Bladeheart, you already knew this would happen. Also, by knowing it all, you also predicted that this dumb Zathis would disagree immediately without knowing your reason."
Zane laughed softly, but his tone quickly regained the room's focus. "Based on the information we gathered from the survivors of the A-rank party, the monster—the mutated Armored Scorpion—seems to be leading a bunch of B-rank monsters, along with a dozen A-rank monsters."
Grund crossed his thick arms. "I don't understand why the Eastern Territory suddenly became like that. Even the hunting grounds on the outskirts are too dangerous for our low-rank adventurers now."
"Sylva, what do you think?" Zane asked.
Sylva sighed, pushing a strand of silver hair back from her face. "In my investigation, it seems all of the sudden quest rank changes this past few weeks are linked together. While it may have seemed normal at first—a slight increase in monster aggression, a minor rise in reported threats—the recent Armored Scorpion incident confirms that something is fundamentally not normal." She spread a series of detailed maps and tracking logs across the table. "I gathered all the data together, and it started more than a month ago."
Kaelus felt a sharp, internal jolt of shock, freezing momentarily. More than a month ago… he had emerged from the cave, having completed his reincarnation and stabilization, slightly more than a month ago. He immediately dismissed the thought, however. By all logic, it was impossible for his mere departure to affect the entire monster ecosystem across such a vast and disparate territory. It had to be a coincidence, a fluke of terrible timing.
Zane waited for the tension brought on by Sylva's revelation to subside before continuing the discussion. He spoke with the firm authority of the Phalanx leader. "Now, the reason I want Kaelus to temporarily join our party is this: we need him to deal with the lower-rank monsters commanded by the mutated Armored Scorpion. Our 7-Star Deviant magic is overkill for the thousands of surrounding threats, and it drains our reserves needlessly. Kaelus's Wind magic output, though currently uncategorized, is terrifyingly effective for wide-area clearance. He is a scalpel for the swarms while we focus on the blade."
"So he must have some skills then. I agree," Grund boomed, his dwarven acceptance simple and immediate.
"Also, as your party leader, I know the risk of bringing an inexperienced mage with us," Zane added firmly, holding up a hand to preempt any further objections. "It will take us two full weeks to travel from this neutral zone deep into the Armored Scorpion site in the middle of the Eastern Territory. So, while traveling, I'll personally teach this young man. He will receive training to be capable enough to fight alongside us. If he doesn't grow and meet a certain baseline level of competence and survivability by the time we reach the Eastern Territory's edge, we will leave him with resources to travel back to the neutral zone."
"So you considered everything," Zathis grumbled, crossing his arms. He was clearly mollified by the safety plan but still reluctant to admit it. "Why didn't you say that a while ago?"
Sylva shook her head, a soft, knowing smile touching her lips. "Dumb lizard," she muttered under her breath, a casual but pointed jab.
Zathis instantly snapped his head toward the Elven Mage, his golden eyes narrowing. "Sylva, are you picking a fight?"
"Okay, okay, that's enough, both of you," Zane said, his laughter echoing softly in the small room, easing the tension. "The strategy meeting is done. The plan is set. We depart at dawn."
The meeting dispersed quickly. Zane led Kaelus to a comfortable guest room. "Get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead."
That night, Kaelus lay down on the soft bed. His thoughts drifted to the sudden, widespread growth in monster aggression starting precisely around the time he had left the cave. "No, impossible," he muttered to himself, finally letting the exhaustion of the long day win. He closed his eyes and slept.