BXBX NOVEL Chapter 109: [Side Quests!]
"Almost there," Levi answered for the 17th time as he observed the map location.
The group has been traveling for the past 3 days and has finally reached the destination that Adrian had provided them. Though looking at the barren land in front of them, they all wondered if this was the end of the journey or not?
They had faced various monsters on their way and collected skill cards ranging from F-Grade to C-Grade. Even though they were kind of prepared to face a B-Grade monster, they had yet to encounter one.
According to Adrian, there were 7 B-Grade monsters here that they needed to be careful of. But as long as they can take care of them, they shouldn\'t have any problem dealing with this place.
"Let\'s camp here. I will check out the perimeter," Evelin spoke as she checked the area giving it a quick look before turning to Levi.
"I will leave it to you, Levi," she spoke before she vanished from there while the group nodded.
"I think we should get another person in the group. Someone who can do all the utility stuff," Levi spoke as he began setting up the camp. Even though he was capable of doing that, he wasn\'t exactly suited for this kind of work.
Or to be precise, their group never needed to do anything like this in their previous lives. Though given the situation, it is sure that this won\'t be the first time they would be facing a situation like this. In fact, many times, they can face situations far worse than this.
"I don\'t know. Do you think we can get someone who can match our vibe? We aren\'t exactly your typical adventurer group," Avida sat on the cold snow as she relaxed before looking at Levi. It wasn\'t like she disagreed with him, but she just didn\'t think they could get someone who can meet all the criteria the group has.
"Let\'s see," Invar joined the conversation as he began counting,"we need someone who can cook, set up a camp, prepare for all sorts of environmental situations. Maybe we can store our weapons, have a basic combat skill, have situational awareness, be calm to murder but also trustable? Trust us but not ask even a single thing about our pasts? Yeah… good luck finding someone like that."
Invar then moved towards the trees, preparing to cut some wood for the fire. If they were going to camp they would need some food to eat as well, and for that fire was necessary.
As for Levi and Avida, they both sighed before putting their thoughts into trash. It would be better if someone among them got some skills they can use for adventuring. Even though it\'s gonna cost a skill slot or two, it\'s a much better and easier option than the other ideas they had.
"Consult with him first," Avida reminded him as she then stood up and moved towards Invar. Since he was going to cut the trees, it was her work to bring the wood to the campsite.
"I will," Levi answered before he began setting up the camp using the items he carried in his inventory.
-Cruch!
Their eyes then reached Evelin who had returned. It was rather fast, so this made the group a bit cautious of her. She looked a bit serious with a hint of boredom in it. And the observing the group she answered,
"Code: Double Zero two."
The group relaxed as they looked at Evelin with a confused look now. That code was just there so that in case any copy/illusion type of monster or player tries to attack them. A bit of an extra step to their survival.
"Why are you back so early?" Avida asked with the same confused expression on her face, while Evelin answered,
"I found a B-Grade Monster."
…
[Location: Far West of the city: Desert Runes of the Lost Crusaders!]
"And then, I went in and swished him. Hahahah. It was fun! You know how it feels like to cut knife with a butter ? Oh! Oops!
I spoke knife with a butter haha! I meant butter with a knife? Yup! That was the feeling! Man those beach days with my grandma were the best! Like you know?
The best of the best! My grandma always used to say…" Percy was rather talkative…
"…"
"…"
"…" experience-NovelFire-content
"…"
Too talkative. The other in the group kept silent as he kept going on and on from one point to another, not bothering to stop even once.
Leaning a bit closer, Luke spoke to Alex,"why do I feel like this is more exhausting than the quest itself?"
Alex only sighed as he shrugged before answering in a low voice," maybe because it is?"
Well. At the very least the group wasn\'t silent anymore.
Mark and Alice rarely talked, with Alex mostly focused on important works. Their interaction was bare minimum, with each focused on their own. But now with Luke in their party as an extra member, and Percy being talkative enough to fill the quota of everyone present… the group was more or less complete?
However, a few seconds later Percy suddenly stopped talking as he looked at the front. His eyes were focused in front of him, at the empty desert, while Alice asked,
"What happened?"
"I feel vibrations in the air. There is some form of machinery here," Percy Answered with a narrowed look. And then crouching as he placed his hand on the ground
[Rapid Electric Distortion!]
He began using his skill at full power. The entire area in front of him started getting brighter for a few moments before the light dimmed.
"What are-" Alex was about to ask something but before that the ground began shaking. An earthquake shook the entire area as a massive rune soon began emerging from the ground.
It was an artistic rune that had intricate design and pattern. But the group couldn\'t focus on that, as with the rune, there also came a swarm of flying insect monsters.
"All right. I was getting bored from all this traveling," Luke said as he positioned his sword in the direction of those monsters, while the rest of the group also prepared for the fight.
…
[Location: East side of the city, deeper into the forest area!]
[Tisha\'s POV!]
"Well, it\'s creepy all right," Olivia spoke as she brushed the leaves off her hair with her hand. She looked at Samantha and Flare observing the surroundings as the rest of the group was setting the camp.
Julia, Mira and Emily were the one working to create traps, collect the wood and also secure a shelter for the girls.
As for me, I was tasked with observing the surroundings for any unusual movements. Unlike Samantha and Flare, who were trying to search for herbs and food, I was watching out for enemies.
"Kyaaa- Mira!!! What are you- Hey!" I saw Mira sneaking up on Olivia and grabbing her from behind. Honestly if I didn\'t know Mira very well from childhood, I might have even considered her a lesbo. Not that I care about things like that but the fact that she wasn\'t and still was brave enough to…
-Booom!
"You stupid bitch! What\'s with you always sneaking up to us?" Olivia raged before chasing after Mira who was now running away.
She hid behind Samantha and laughed like a little kid before speaking,"come on now. It\'s not like you don\'t like it."
She sure was bold with words.
"YOU!" And Olivia, fuming in anger, gritted her teeth as she glared at Mira.
"All right. That\'s enough Mira, and Olivia, you get to work as well," Samantha spoke with a smile on her face as she reached the area where the wood was collected. Flare also moved there, lighting it up with her magic.
"How far do we have to go?" Emily asked, a bit concerned as she looked at the night sky. While this world enjoyed the night more than the day, we exactly weren\'t used to it.
"According to what Adrian told us, it should be about 3 kilometers ahead. That is why I decided to take a break here while waiting for the day before moving into that monster den," Samantha spoke as everyone nodded.
"Are you sure the information is correct, though? How come he knows more than us since we all started at the same time?" I asked as I moved closer to the group.
I mean, it\'s not like I hated him or something but trusting someone I didn\'t know wasn\'t exactly the best thing either.
"Hey! Take that back!" Julia spoke out. Doesn\'t seem like she liked what I said, though, I don\'t care what she says either. She is head over heels for that guy, and even though I can understand her reasons for that, this and that are two different things.
"Calm down Julia," Flare spoke as she sat on the ground peacefully warming herself up from the fire.
"Actually we aren\'t doing this for free," Samantha said as she smiled at me. I was confused as I obviously knew that there was a quest here that would help us proceed to the next Tutorial. That\'s the reason we were here in the first place.
Though her next statement made my eyes widen at her.
"Apart from the quest itself, he has promised that he can upgrade one of our skills to A-Grade and also remove any unwanted skills as long as it\'s not B-Grade or above. He has an artifact for that, and Emily has confirmed its functions."
Ummm…
"What?"
I couldn\'t believe what I just heard.