Chapter 77: Expedition Party (2)

In the courtyard there were six groups, many of which consisted of four to six people per. Agni’s group was the latter being the only group with six people in it. Gate briefly explained the purpose of the expeditions as Oliver spoke at the front of the crowd.

“Is this your first expedition?” He first asked. Seeing that both Katrin and Agni nodded affirmatively, he continued whispering to his group.

“I see. That’s really strange that you already have combat experience within a shard then. How long since your arrival? I realize that’s kind of a taboo question among adventurers but.. I’m genuinely curious.”

“Mmm. A couple of weeks at this point.” Katrin replied as she pressed her fingertip against her lip.

“W-what? Seriously? You two just got here. That’s crazy.” Gates remarked. Agni couldn’t help but notice the eyes of their other party members flit in response to their answer as well.

“Is it? I’m not really sure..ha ha.” Katrin chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck. Agni couldn’t agree more with Katrin’s reaction.

*This is…really weird. Grimlock aren’t that hard to defeat. Why is it so few people have encountered them? Do the majority of adventurers really just stay in the city all day?* Agni wondered.

“Well anyway, this expedition is basically a trial by fire for the most part. People like myself who work for the chapel and also have experience are paired with others. The goal is to safely allow people to engage Grimlock in a somewhat controlled environment. But..” Gates explained.

“That doesn’t always mean it’s 100% safe. People still die on expeditions.” The woman known as Ariadna said, completely interrupting Gate’s description.

“R-right..” He said reluctantly, almost as if he was trying not to scare the other party members. Agni and Katrin weren’t the least perturbed but Merri quivered slightly as she heard the word ‘die’. She hid it well though by engrossing herself further into the small book in her grasp.

“So, what kind of Grimlock have you faced off against?” Gates next asked.

“Fulger Stags. A ton of them. Hundreds by this point. So many, I hope that we will be dealing with anything but Fulger Stags…” Agni responded, her eyes taking on a somewhat blank look.

“You mean the reindeer looking things? No way. I heard those things killed a party of six just last week.” Merri said, the news of this was enough to force her to put away her book and join the conversation. Agni was surprised that the minotauress’ voice didn’t seem to match her well chiseled body.

*M-mouse like…* She thought to herself as she listened to Merri speak.

“You heard right. The Ghost Blade Chapel lost six temp members. Crazy stuff. Luckily we never start out with something like that. We’ll be facing off against slimes.” Gates responded.

“Slimes? Wait…” Ariadna said, her face contorting slightly as her wheels began to turn.

“Slimes are terrible. You’re really starting us out with those? That’s ridiculous!” She finally said after a few moments.

“Umm. What’s so bad about slimes?” Katrin asked.

“Well…” Gates seemed a bit apprehensive to answer but Ariadna had no problem filling them in.

“If you like your clothes and hair where it is, it’s best to avoid slimes altogether. I mean, they are easy to defeat but…” Ariadna replied.

“Slimes are immune to physical damage of all types. In a way, they are perfect practice for aspiring magic users. The only problem is slimes are also highly acidic. Just one spurt of slime acid is usually enough to melt clothing and produce light acid burns. They can even cause blindness if you’re not careful.” This time Merri chimed, prompting Gates to nod his head.

“Indeed. Merri is 100% right. Slime acid can easily destroy magical gear and eat through weapons or armor. It’s a big part of why it’s near impossible to damage them with normal weapons. But–as I mentioned–slimes are extremely weak versus magic. This is a sort of test. It allows the overseers to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of adventurers. Then we can help cover for those weaknesses to help you stay alive out there.”

“Well..I’m okay with anything as long as it’s not Stags.” Agni said with a smile.

“Fall in!” Oliver’s voice rang out across the courtyard, prompting the parties to split up into two lines and march towards the center of the courtyard. There, just beside a large water fountain was a glowing magical circle.

“Step forth, one party at a time. When you pass through the warp sigil please step aside for the next incoming party.” Oliver instructed as he watched each group slowly proceed into the large magical circle and disappear in a blink of light. Soon it was their turn and the moment she stepped into the light Agni could feel a strange sensation overcome her. She felt lightheaded, her body was as light as a feather and she felt as if she was floating away. This sensation only lasted for the briefest of moments before all turned white. The next thing she knew she was standing in a small woodland clearing. She immediately recognized it as a replica of the training room — or rather the training room was made to resemble this place.

“Come. Let’s not cause an accident.” Gates said after briefly checking to see that everyone stepped through together. The party of six stepped to the side with three other groups and awaited the remainder of the advancing parties.

“Gates. I was wondering, what’s the difference between an alliance and a regular party?” Katrin asked.

“Oh. That. Well, alliances allow multiple parties to band together and reap some of the benefits of a party. Most commonly it’s used for chapels who want to explore zones together. It’s really handy and doesn’t interfere with party settings which are also really important. It can be a pain to constantly configure your party’s settings.” Gates responded as he glanced around the environs.

Agni was also taking in the sights. It was still mid morning and the sun was shining brightly above in a cloudless sky. The woods area was vibrant with greenery and thick trees with large circular heads near the summits.

“Party..settings?” Katrin asked.

“Yes. There are a great deal of benefits to ranking up. You learn more about the details of your Systema at that time as well, and party settings are one of them. Of course, you could always tip me a few Gols and I’ll happily explain–“

“No thank you. I was just curious. I don’t mind waiting.” Katrin said , flashing her best smile which to Agni was akin to a beam of sunlight — filled with warmth and beauty. Apparently it had the same effect on Gates as he totally disregarded Katrin’s flat refusal and blushed slightly as well.

Katrin however was unaware of this secret superpower which caused Agni to chuckle to herself.

“Great. Everyone’s made it through. Today’s exercise is simple. Here in the Woods of Erim your goal is to defeat as many slimes as possible. The group that manages to do so in three hours will receive chapel points as well as a reward package. How you and your group go about it are up to you, but I have to warm you — no PVP! And try not to interfere with others as best as possible– I assure you that there are more than enough slimes to go around.” Oliver said as he walked from group to group, handing each alliance leader a small wooden figurine which resembled a mushroom man keychain.

*S-so cute…* Agni thought to herself as her eyes began to glisten.

“This is a Return Relic. It’s a simple trinket. It allows one or more people to return to a previously marked point.”

“Oh, so it’s like the Wayfarer’s Crystal!” Katrin said as she drew near and grasped Gates’ hand to share in examining the Return Relic.

“Aha, yea. Exactly.” He responded, once again blushing slightly while Katrin remained oblivious.

*I can’t really blame the guy. Katrin’s cleavage is a very impressive sight..* Agni mused inwardly as she watched Gates squirm, struggling to keep his eyes averted from Katrin’s chest.

After Oliver finished explaining the rest of the expedition’s rules, as well as how to use the Return Relic he used his Systema to create an alliance quest for each party.

“Is this also something to be learned later on?” Agni asked as she stared at the quest info.

“Custom quests? Oh, yea. But you’d need to reach rank 2 for that apparently.” Gates replied before turning to face all of his party members.

“Well, it’s time to get a move on. Let’s go, I know a decent spot where we won’t be disturbed.” Gates said.