The forest greens were restless. Scurrying footsteps echoed throughout the darkness of the forest as Aria and the others readied their stance for the incoming monsters. Without a pause, several monsters pounced out of the dark thickets to strike, but they were countered and blocked by the prepared adventurers.
"These creatures are no doubt Velocipreys." Aria rushed in and sliced her target with her new dual blade called Jaggid Shotel with precision. "They are capable of complex hunting practices like the Jaggis. Do not let yourself be isolated and surrounded by them, but if you do, call for help."
"No problem miss." Gunther expertly moved his Canine Katana to thrust and slashed at his opponents with minimal movements, suitable in dense vegetation so as not to struck the trees. "We have had a few days of practice with these guys and with our new weapon, we have become efficient in hunting them."
"Wind. Be my blade. Air Slash." Elisia chanted magic spell in rapid succession to mow down her enemies. "Do not be complacent. Noel, Mary, are the both of you keeping up."
"No probs' vice-leda'. We're keeping em' in check from up ere."
"Same up ere. These bow and arrows 're amazing."
"The 2 of you have to look out for any sign of the leader as well. Don't slack on that as well." Peter blocked the incoming Velociprey with his shield, pushed it away and countered with a powerful thrust from his gunlance.
The fight ended as abruptly as it started, with the remaining Velociprey fleeing the scene. The group recuperated for a moment before venturing in deeper into the Forest of Beginners. They moved further South where caves and rock formation appeared more often, but were still dominated by greeneries. However, the trees began to dwindle in numbers and tall grasses replaced them.
"We will soon exit the forest and entered the Hell Savannah if we continued. Still, there seems to be no sign of the leader of the packs." Gunther looked around in search for any large creatures. "Though we have properly tracked those escaping Velociprey, their tracks seem to disappear in these area."
"Perhaps they established their nest in one of those caves or rock formations." Elisia pointed to the general direction where rocky formations seemed to cluster. "Perhaps, we should check them."
Aria and the others warily approached the rocky face and threw several stones into every openings they could find. Other than the voices of nature itself, the caves were silent. They were wondering if it was safe to enter when Aria chanted her magic: "Fire. Ignite my breath and burn my enemies with a roar. Flamethrower."
A powerful stream of fire was seemingly blown out from Aria's breath and travelled into several opening of the rock face.
Silence had once again dominated the surroundings. Aria closed her eyes to focus on her hearing and after a few seconds, Aria drew out her swords. "All of you, get ready. Something is coming out."
Everybody backed out and readied their weapons. As soon as they did that, several Velociprey came pouring out of the openings and scurried around. While the others were directing their attentions to the immediate enemies, Aria remained vigilant towards an opening. Soon, Aria's suspicion was confirmed as a larger monster emerged. "There is the leader: the Velocidrome."
Velocidrome appeared to be an estimated 10 meters in length, similar to the Great Jaggi they had fought weeks ago. It had similar appearance to its pack members, but with more prominent red crest, longer claws on its forelimbs and a prominent giant red claw on each of its forelimbs' middle digit.
Aria was the first to respond as she rushed in and slashed at her target's neck. However, it jumped back and started to run around while screeching out several high-pitched howl. The sound it made was complex and it caused the Velociprey to move in an organised manner. Within a few minutes, the Velociprey had the adventurers surrounded with the leader well outside of the encirclement. Several Velociprey jumped in succession to deliver several cuts onto the adventurers, deploying a hit-and-run tactic to wear down their enemies.
"They are smarter than we have thought." Aria kept her eyes on her prey as it ran around. "We will need to break out of this encirclement and route the leader away from its goons. Mary, Noel, please use your Dragon Piercer shots on the same direction. Peter, release Burst Fire after both arrows landed. Its successive explosion will disorient the pack. Gunther, Elisia and me will hold off the incoming attacks."
"Alrighty missy! Mary!"
"On it!"
Both Noel and Mary crouched down and ignited their arrowhead by rubbing them against the rocky surface in a single swipe. They pulled back the bow string with their well-developed back muscles and when the built up potential energy reached its optimal state, the arrows were released. With great vigor, the arrows pierced several Velocipreys and sent a mini shockwave to the surrounding. Peter did not miss the beat and shot a burst round, emptying his 3 loaded ammunitions in an instant. The explosions disoriented the Velocipreys and their formation crumbled.
Aria dashed out of the broken encirclement and headed towards the leader.
"Wind. Be my wings, bring my soul to heaven where you reside. Air walk." With a powerful enchantment, Aria sped up and she did a round slash on the neck of the Velocidrome, damaging its screamer sac.
Without the command of the alpha, the Velocipreys dispersed into randomness and Gunther took the lead in taking them down while leaving Aria to fight against the leader. He led his party to isolate the leader from its goons and fended off as many as they could.
Gunther expertly handled his Canine Katana with wide slashes to keep the Velocipreys in a comfortable distance. He dominated his space despite facing faster enemies that outnumbered him and even had the luxury to move to other areas for a wide coverage.
Peter used his shield to defend incoming attacks while his gunlance countered with various thrusts and wide sweeps. He would occasionally shot several rounds to maximise his destructive potential on the enemies and disrupted their coordination.
Elisia rapidly dished out several wind shots upon the incoming foes while hitting some that managed to get close to her with the head of her magic staff. Occasionally, she would assist others with her wind magic by casting protection spells on her teammates.
Noel blitzed around after enchanting her legs with wind magic to cover the gaps left by Gunther, Elisia and Peter. She would use the arrows as blade to fight in close quarter against the Velocipreys and would shoot if she could not reach them.
Mary perched on a rock formation and sniped at the Velocipreys to ease the burden of her party members and would used Dragon Piercer to target a group of Velocipreys, killing them in bulk. Her other task was to make sure that Aria was doing well enough against the Velocidrome and would jump in to assist her if needed.
Both Aria and the Velocidrome were locked in a dance. The reptile hopped around while using its limbs as knives and Aria slid around to avoid the attacks.
"You are not as tough as the Great Jaggi. Water. Purge your heat and freeze my blade. Frozen edge." Aria's Jaggid Shotel emitted cold steam that enveloped her surroundings, causing frost to form around Aria. The Velocidrome was alerted from the sudden drop in temperature and kept its distance while Aria gave chase.
In the midst of the chaos, Aria managed to corner the escaping Velocidrome against the rock face, but Aria's instinct was telling her that was not over and as Aria delivered her blows, she heard another scream from a distance behind her. Several Velocipreys pounced on her, but Aria was able to expertly avoid them and rolled away.
"Everyone! Not good! There's anotha bunch of tha monsters!" Mary's warning echoed throughout the battlefield as several Velocipreys emerged from the tall grasses. Alerted, the Will of the Wind party tighten their formation to defend against the incoming attacks and in the midst of reorganising their formation, a huge shadow casted its presence upon the battlefield: it was another Velocidrome.
"There are 2 alphas?!" Gunther rallied his team and stood in front of the incoming threats.
"Mary, go and assists miss Aria. Peter, Noel, Elisia, keep those pesky goons from interfering." With his speed, Gunther executed several wide slashes in succession to press on the second Velocidrome.
Mary approached Aria's side only to witness Aria's prowess in overwhelming her foe. Her movements looked unreal as she slid around to avoid any attacks while simultaneously dishing out several spinning slashes onto the Velocidrome. Each movements were filled with power that mismatched Aria's elegant and swift dance as shown when the Velocidrome, several sizes larger than her, was thrown back after an upward slash.
Several Velocipreys tried to get a jump on Aria, but their attacks were dodged when Aria jumped on her side and did a backflip while rotating around her axis to counter her enemies. With the powerful blows, the Velocipreys were thrown off the arena as if they were unworthy.
"Oh, m'lord. A young'un like 'er dishing out those moves. Unbelievable!" Mary took out 3 arrows and shot continuously on the incoming Velocipreys.
"Wind. Wrap your wings unto my arrow. Piercing shot." Mary took out her large arrow and slid it to ignite the head while chanting to enhance its power. She pulled and charged while waiting for the opening.
Aria noticed Mary's dragon piercer and positioned herself in between Mary and the Velocidrome. Several Velocipreys jumped in front of the wounded Velocidrome to protect it, but Aria spun around while sliding towards her target, knocking away the last layer of defense. The Velocidrome attacked with its signature jump, but Aria jumped away to the side. In that moment, an opening was created and Mary unleased her arrow. The arrow travelled at an unbelievable speed and pierced the Velocidrome's torso, pinning it onto a nearby tree; it slumped over as its soul left.
Aria hurriedly dashed to assist Gunther against the other Velocidrome, but was blocked by the surviving flock of Velocipreys being commanded by the alpha.
"Huff, I am running out of stamina from all those flashy movements." She jumped back away from the flocks before taking out a piece of boar meat leftover from their lunch and gobbled it up with incredible speed.
"This armour has Gluttony skill, but it is still a mystery how it work this well." Feeling energized, Aria charged in again.
Gunther swung his long sword onto the Velocidrome with vigor while the latter used its screamer sac to instruct its goons while avoiding the former's attacks.
"I have to finish this." Gunther draw his blade back into an iai stance.
The Velocidrome saw Gunther stopped on his track; it screeched and ran towards Gunther, brandishing its claws to gouge out its enemy. Several Velocipreys honed in from Gunther's vulnerable back, but Noel and Peter prevented the interference. Elisia swung her magic staff and casted wind magic onto Gunther, increasing his mobility.
The Velocidrome was rapidly closing the distance and at the point of contact, Gunther unleashed his blade, breaking the Velocidrome's claw as he lunged forward diagonally. At the moment when he passed his target, Gunther spun around with an incredible speed due to the enhancement and used its momentum to deliver another powerful cut on his target's rear. The Velocidrome was blown to the side, knocking a few Velocipreys before being halted by a rocky formation that cracked from the impact.
Gunther watched his target lying motionless with bated breath before exhaling in relieved as the alpha remained motionless. "We have defeated the alphas! Let us finish off the remnants!"
"""""Right!"""""
The remaining Velocipreys were finished off one by one as the sun began to inch closer towards the horizon. Noel, being the fastest, was deployed to inform the guild about the subjugation and brought back several helpers to collect the carcasses. Meanwhile, the others began dissecting the monsters and maintaining their equipment.
When the sun was touching the horizon, Aria sensed several individuals approaching. However, it was not the group that Noel had called for.
"Good job on your hunt." Rutio Gren Lutem approached the group with 5 other people. "Most impressive. So, any answer to my invitation?"
"The answer is still no." Gunther confronted. "Besides, how did you know-"
"Mobilising such a large number of people... you will only be as fast as the slowest person in your group. That is why we can arrive faster than those guild staffs. Now that I have answered your question, I will ask you again to join us."
"We remain steadfast in our reply."
"What a shame... Then, will you sell one of the alpha's carcass to me? I will pay more than what the guild will offer."
"What are you trying- I see, unfortunately, the materials are to be given to Lord Sultier. We made a promise with him."
"Only 1 of it, right? I will pay even more than what was offered."
"No can do, we are not short on money anyways."
Rutio remained compose while wearing his eerie smile. "Perhaps, I will come to an agreement with the lord then. However, you will soon come to regret it if you continue on your selfish path."
"That is enough." A large man appeared from the shadow of the trees. "Please be respectful. You are not in your own territory. Any insult directed on our lord and his subject will not be tolerated."
"Oh, pardon me. You arrived faster than expected Raymond." Rutio turned to the large man. "I was just conducting some negotiation with my fellow adventurers. No insult was thrown."
"Then leave them alone."
"Quite the audacity for a commoner. I am free to approach anyone I find interesting. However, you are right. I shall not waste anymore time in this pointless charade and leave." Rutio left with his escorts. "Good luck on your future endeavours."
Several guild members began dismantling the monsters and loaded them onto several carts. Nights had fallen when they began their journey back to Lapis. Several torches were lighted up to scare away unwanted creature and to illuminate their path.
"Excuse me, mister Raymond."
"Ah, miss Aria. You need not call me politely, I am a commoner."
"That makes the 2 of us. You seems to have a bit of history with that man. Do you know anything about him? What is he after?"
"That man was quite the troublesome figure. Although he left his house, he still maintain his status as nobility and had quite the backing. I used to go on adventures with him when he just started, but he had surpassed me in the blink of an eye." Raymond looked up as he reminiscence about his past. "He is one of those rare magician who can cast all attributes at high level and that allowed him to attain the Gold rank. In fact, many rumours are circulating that he will be promoted to Platinum rank in another year or so."
"He must be really capable if many hold him in such high regards."
"Yes, indeed. If he was to join the previous disastrous subjugation, many lives would have been preserved. In fact, the subjugation would have probably ended up successful. However, ever since he rose up to Silver rank, he began to amass influence and when he reached Gold rank, he started his clan, swallowing up many parties to strengthen himself. He is quite the cunning one, so you need to be careful."
"I see..."
As they entered the city, the night was rather noisy with citizens enjoying their activities. Amongst the passerby, several curious individuals flocked to the returning group, impressed by the new monsters that were hunted. However, the guild staffs ensured that the onlookers did not hinder their travel to the adventurer's guild.
"Miss Aria, will you be staying the night us?" Elisia offered.
Aria shook her head. "I will be visiting the orphanage. I made a promise with the children there."
"Alright. Then take these leftover soup with you. It may not be a lot, but I hope it can help those children even a little."
"Thank you. I will relay your kindness to them."
"Hahaha, there is no need though."
Aria parted way with Will of the Wind party and headed Northeast towards the underdeveloped area where many poorer citizens settled. Along the way, she purchased meals from vendors dotted around the city.
As the crowd slowly dwindled, Aria arrived at her destination. An old building was erected in the middle of a grassy patch and Aria got to the entrance before knocking. The door slowly opened and an old lady appeared to greet Aria. "Oh my, miss Aria. It is quite late already and you still come here."
"I made a promise with the orphans to come today and play with them. I am not about to break it. Anyways, have you all eaten?" Aria came in as invited by the old lady.
"Oh my, we have, it was some boiled wheat grains with herbs picked from our backyards."
"Perfect. I brought some delicious meals for everybody to enjoy. There are meat as well." Aria put down 2 big sacks on the table and opened them to reveal their content. Hearty loafs of bread, fresh & pickled vegetables, assortment of fruits, several pieces of grilled meat, spiced jerky, and vegetable soup stored in a separate leather sack.
"Oh my, you seriously do not have to do this."
Several doors were opened in tandem and several children came rushing to the dining area.
"Big sis Aria!" Several children exclaimed and came rushing to hug their guest. "Let's play!"
"Hahaha. I know you guys wanted to play, but it is late and dangerous. How about this: you guys eat to your fill today and sleep early, tomorrow you will wake up early and play with big sis here. Is that alright?"
"""Yes...!!!"""
"Granny Theresa, please dig in as well. You must be tired running the orphanage, so why not take this time to relax and enjoy."
"Oh my, what a lovely child you are. I give my thank to Lord Flare for bringing me this fortune."
The feast was lively for it was filled with many laughter and it ended as soon as it started. The youngest group of children were ushered onto their bed while the oldest group stayed to clean up the mess. Soon, every children went to bed, happy and full from the feast.
Before the sun peeked out of the land, Aria was doing her morning routine on the vast grassland. The overseer of the orphanage approached Aria who was taking a break with a basket of bread from yesterday's leftover. "No matter how many times I see it, it still impresses me to see such a young girl doing such rigorous training."
"Thank you granny, for bringing me breakfast." Aria chomped down on the slices of bread. "You should be eating as well."
"Oh my, thank you for your concern, but I have eaten my fill before coming here."
"Spending more on food should be a given. Good nutrition can help you challenge the day better. The rewards that you received from Daniel's sacrifice should be sufficient to feed the entire orphanage for months right?"
"Indeed. Poor Daniel. I hope his soul will be guided to where Lord Flare resides. He was abandoned by his parents and had to live off the street before I picked him up, but I guess it must have been painful for his parent as well since they were too poor to be able to feed another mouth."
"I guess, that is why he could never abandon his younger siblings, even though they are not blood related. He told me to take care of them in his place and I intend to commit fully to it."
"Oh my, Daniel was so fortunate to have met you." Theresa walked towards an erected tombstone nearby and placed a small flower on top. "Hear that Daniel, you can rest easy now. Be sure to live happily in your next life."
Aria came next to Theresa and prayed for Daniel's soul to ascend and be reincarnated. As the sun peeked above the horizon, the solemn moment was disturbed as the children who woke up early rushed out to do their daily activities. After the sun fully emerged into the morning sky, all of the orphans had woken up and were having breakfast in the largest hall. Several volunteers came by to assist Theresa with the daily chores and to take care of the large number of young children. Aria too, was playing with the children who had finished their breakfast. She would teach them how to write, practiced sword swings, picked up wild herbs and played hide-and-seek.
The morning bell rang, indicating that morning had reached its zenith and Aria had to set out to the guild. However, before being able to leave, some commotion occurred at the entrance. Aria and Theresa went out only to find a group of people intimidating the children outside. Aria and Theresa stood in front to protect the young orphans.
"Excuse me, what business do you have with us? These orphans are under my care and if they do something that upset you, I will apologise on their behalf." Theresa spoke with a firm, but gentle tone.
"We're not here to play with some unwanted kids." A tall man wearing well crafted leather armor confronted Theresa, trying to intimidate the old lady. "This land here is under the jurisdiction of Golden Mountain guild and I have been tasked to removed any unwanted residents off this place."
The news greatly shocked the orphanage's residents.
"What is the meaning of this?! This land was given by Lord Sultier to be used for the needy! This land cannot be purchased by anyone and have been the safe haven for many orphans!" Theresa was particularly shook and lashed out at the intruders.
"There's no point in lashing out at me. You and the residents of this building are to leave within 2 weeks and if you refuse, you will be charged with trespassing on the property of the guild."
"And I am saying that this property belongs to the people! It can never be bought!"
"Hey granny, perhaps your brain have regressed with age. The guild have purchased this land. Of course, our leader went through the House of Sultier to legally own this piece of land. We have the proof here." The man whipped out a piece of luxurious paper. "This here is the hard proof. Look, it's the seal of Sultier House and it is also signed by a member of the House. You can't refute against this claim anymore, so just start packing up and leave within the time given."
Everyone were shocked in silent, but Aria, upon taking a closer look at the document, was infuriated; the seal was signed by her step-mother.