A dull ache at the back of Nil’s head stirred him the following day, and an annoying buzzing accompanied it. He and Selia had stayed up late into Sunday night, and both agreed that it was okay to sleep in a couple of mornings a week. By ‘sleeping in’, they meant waking up somewhere between six and six-thirty instead of five, if not earlier, and such mornings followed their ‘date’ evenings.
Nil’s body clock had no trouble adjusting to the variable routine, and when his sleep cycle ended, he could tell that it was far too early. He still felt Selia’s right arm wrapped around him and her chest against his back. She was a clingy sleeper, and Nil enjoyed that about her. The woman’s breathing was regular. Whatever had interrupted his slumber didn’t seem to bother her.
The cold light of the Schema interface assaulted Nil’s eyes as soon as he opened them. It took him a moment to focus and read the contents.
Summoned Sakura has tagged you for Emergency Quest!
Arcane scrolls, tomes, and many arcane ingredients struggle with portal and teleportation travel. Unfortunately, the Agents of the Scourge have stolen trade manifests from a Control World and ambushed the transport. The guards have perished, and the vessel is no longer functional. The cargo and its carriers are in danger.
If the Scourge were to get their hands on the goods, it could prove catastrophic not only for local Beacon Worlds but also the source Control World. Billions of lives are at risk. Unfortunately, the Scourge’s ritual is limiting aid. Only a dozen fighters of Bronze Realm and below may enter the realm.
The carriers are expendable, but their survival will be appreciated. Get the cargo to the rendezvous point and ensure the second vessel safely departs.
Rewards: 500 Schema Credit, Possible Bonuses.
Three out of six quest slots have been filled. Since you have a good standing with the Nexus, you may tag another Summoned regardless of whether you accept the quest.
Preferred roles: Vanguard, scout, support, or healing magic user.
After his performance during the previous quest, Nil didn’t expect to hear from her again, let alone get an invite for an emergency quest. He had only encountered a quest of its kind once before, and he had never experienced anything of the sort since. It had a seemingly endless number of Summoned, and he hadn’t seen entities like it since.
The new quest was also vastly different from any of his previous ones. His first was the closest, but it involved keeping someone alive until sunlight instead of escorting or transporting cargo. He decided to accept it without a second thought. The reward of only Schema Credits didn’t particularly appeal to Nil. However, in his experience, such quests came with the favor of Control Worlds, which always led to unpredictable but substantial benefits.
Since he and Sakura filled the vanguard role well, he tagged Selia. Phase shifting, her Bronze-Eight Finesse, and new spells made her an excellent scout. He gave her a gentle shake when she didn’t wake up straight away.
“It’s too early,” Selia whined, shrugging Nil off. “I want to sleep.”
“Wake up,” he said, trying to keep his volume low and tone gentle. “This is important.”
“No. It’s not. You can wait a few hours for the next round.”
“That’s not it—”
“Fine.” She groaned, throwing the cover off herself. “You’ll—”
“I’ve got a quest.” Nil laughed. “Do you want to come with me?”
“What?” Her eyes snapped open. It took a couple of seconds of rapid blinking before her eyes adjusted. Selia’s eyes widened. “Emergency quest? The rewards suck. I’d rather train.”
“I know it's just Schema Credit, but that’s not the important part,” Nil said. Selia cared less about making a fortune than him. She had no family and didn’t have much to spend money on. “But the real prize here isn’t the money or the bonuses but the favor of the Control Worlds. I owe my rapid growth and all the cultivation stuff to them and similar powerful entities.”
Nil had shared his manuals with Selia and had started her on the path toward cultivation. However, the lack of Energy Instinct made her slower on the uptake. Selia had picked up a few sensory spells to help track her enemy while phase shifting through surfaces but her mastery of them wasn’t good enough to assist with Qi or energy detection and circulation techniques.
“They might plant the seeds for something like Energy Instinct or might even start you on the path toward a soul weapon seed,” Nil continued. “Come with me. We might lose a few days of training but it will be worth it.”
Selia fell silent as she read through the quest again. During their many talks, the woman revealed that she avoided emergency quests and disaster zones. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help or do good. Her heart went out to the victims. However, she worried that flashbacks of the fall of the cataclysm and the fall of South America would cripple her. She claimed to suffer nightmares of the time, and Nil often heard her whimpering during the night. A tight hug or kiss generally calmed her.
“Do we have time to freshen up?” Selia asked. “I don’t want to show up in an emergency situation with a full bladder.”
“Good thinking,” Nil said.
The last emergency quest took Nil straight to the disaster zone without stopping in the Nexus. He didn’t get a chance to pick equipment and clothes. The Schema had put him in an outfit that matched all the other assisting Summoned.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Nil and Selia took turns relieving themselves, brushing their teeth, and putting on comfortable sport wear. Since Selia worked for Nexus, the Schema considered her to be an individual with good standing. She received the privilege of sharing the quest with another person too. Shawn was the pair’s first candidate. Unfortunately, the message no longer listed vanguards or scouts. In fact, it showed only one open slot. Since the quest offer hadn’t disappeared, Nil assumed the Schema had registered their decision already.
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The time put into changing clothes proved wasted. The Schema teleported the pair straight to their destination and in outfits with matching styles. Nil’s was light grey with soft shoes, trousers, a jacket, and a white buttoned shirt. Meanwhile, Selia wore charcoal and had a form-fitting coat instead of a jacket. Her outfit appeared perfect for blending into the remains of the grey, covered city that surrounded them.
Rough stone surrounded them on every side except one that opened onto an endless sea of green. The sun was low over it. Darkness would soon be upon them, and there was little time to waste.
“Thank you for coming,” Sakura said, clasping hands with Nil. She wore a pure white outfit similar to Selia’s and appeared more lithe than the last time he had seen her. Her soul weapon’s hilt hung from her waist, and a pair of eyeball-like orbs hovered over either shoulder. They were made of the same matte dark-grey metal as the sword handle. “You look far better than when I last saw you.”
“It wasn’t my best performance,” Nil said, flashing a sheepish grin. He didn’t feel embarrassed of his failure and the injury but the overconfidence and foolishness that led to it.
Nil glanced past the woman at the pair of other Summoned. Their similar clothes gave them away. One wore light grey. His ridiculously muscular build, height, and the oversized axe he carried suggested he was a brute. The other was a woman in red. Nil didn’t know what the color signified, but the energy radiating off her and the staff in her hand suggested that she was a mage or summoner of some sort. The duo stood guard outside of a domed stone hut, and Nil spotted people inside.
“This is Selia,” Nil said, nodding at his companion. “She is more than competent. I hope inviting her makes up for my failures.”
“Give yourself more credit.” Sakura laughed. “You did your job well. It's just unfortunate that the thing got you during its death throes. It happens to the best of us. I’ve seen better and far more experienced Summoned die to a lot less.” She nodded at the pair behind her. “That’s Bjorn. We’ve been on a bunch of quests together. He might look big and dumb, but I promise you we can count on him to watch the rear. Farah is from my world. We haven’t quested together, but she’s kicked my butt in the Gauntlet of Ten. Her magic is potent. As long as we keep her safe and ensure nothing interrupts her casting, there is little that can survive her spells.”
Selia put her arm through a nearby building’s wall. Someone screamed from inside, and she swiftly pulled the limb back. “As Nil said, I’m competent. Given the white, I’m assuming you’re our commander. What’s the plan, Boss?”
“I’d rather not repeat myself,” Sakura answered. “Let's wait a bit longer. Maybe someone else will answer our call. Then, I’ll brief everyone.”
The final member of the party arrived almost on cue. She wore a deep blue, and Nil detected the same depth of energy radiating from her as Sakura’s friend. The woman also carried a staff like he had seen other mages do.
“Carmen!” Selia exclaimed, sprinting to the woman and pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank you for answering my call. You have no idea how happy I am to see you again.”
“Don’t you look healthier,” Carmen said, patting Selia’s back. She looked to be in her mid-to-late thirties and sounded American.
“If you need a support mage, Carmen’s our girl,” Selia told them. “She can heal. She can defend. She can attack. She can do it all. Carmen is the best.”
“Stop exaggerating.” Carmen shook her head, looking amused. “I’m a healer first and foremost. The rest isn’t much but ensures I’m good for more than just the one thing.”
“Merchant!” Sakura called. “Tell your people to get ready. The last of our party is here. We move out as soon as possible.”
“Aye!” A man called from within the domed hut. Nil heard grumblings of needing more rest, but swift hushing and reprimand followed. “We need a few more minutes to secure everything. Then we’ll be ready to go.”
“You have until the count of three hundred. Then no more.” Sakura waved to her companions, and they gathered behind her. She rolled out a map and began the briefing. “We’re here,” she said, pointing at a hollow circle drawn into the mountain. Then, she traced her finger down a line drawn from it. “Merchant fled through here and caused a few collapses after their airship went down. He believes it won’t take long for the Scourge to break through.”
Sakura’s finger moved to a path drawn on the opposite side of the circle. It led deeper into the mountain range and up. “There is a refueling station up here where they were to switch to another vessel. It should be mostly ready, but we don’t know if the Scourge somehow beat us there or not. The objective is to escort them and the cargo up this path, get them on the vessel, and defend it until they’re high enough up in the air.” She tapped on either side of the road. Several smaller paths branched from it, most leading down. “We might get flanked. There might be traps and obstacles. According to Merchant’s estimates, the Cursed Ones and Scourge are mostly Iron Realm. Whatever ritual is keeping the Silvers out is restricting them as well. Merchants scans found nothing, but that doesn’t mean the bastards don’t have a workaround.
“This won’t be easy, and the risks are great.” Sakura paused, glancing over her shoulder at the domed hut’s entrance and the building Selia had put her arm through. “We all know what to do if things get dicey. Nothing matters more than getting the package to its destination. Not even us. There are several worlds and far too many lives at stake. If anyone gets separated or in major trouble, they’re going to be on their own.”
“Just tell us the formation and what to do,” Bjorn said. “We got this.”
“I’m a lot faster compared to the last time we met,” Nil told their leader, manifesting the Source Gauntlets. It drew looks of surprise from Sakura and her companions. “Selia and I can take care of whatever you assign us.”
“Young people make everything sound so much more dire than they are.” Carmen sighed. “Just remember, if you’re separated from the group or in trouble with the Scourge, run and hide. Not all of us need to reach our destination to make it back home. As long as the quest is completed, all survivors will be teleported back to the Nexus.”