The next few days were spent doing multiple requests, none of them remotely interesting most all of them extermination or fetch and retrieve quests. The biggest difference was that they had to go deeper into the forest to complete said quests. After a week they had already reached the silver rank. The village itself did not have many requests of their level, it would take a while to get to the gold rank. A few more run ins with Liv and the elf told them that they were not yet strong enough to reach the gold rank anyway. Their skill was impressive but they simply lagged behind in stats. Anyone who reached the gold rank would generally be level hundred or higher.
Since the two of them had already taken the bronze level escort request to guard a merchant caravan to the capital they spent the next two weeks sparring with each other. Sometimes Liv would take the time to spar them and show them some pointers from his own experience. They never did get the chance to meet his team. Liv told them not to worry about it as his team wasn’t the most social of groups. Once the day for their escort job arrived they had gained a small measure of progress. Jace had gained another level in mastery for both sword and shield, bringing them up to two and four respectively. Weira had gained two levels with her halberd, bringer her up to advanced rank nine. She told him she could feel she was close to breaking through to the expert level.
Jace stretched as he waited at the entrance of the village for the rest of the caravan to gather. He saw a dark-skinned, portly man walk over, the man threw them a jovial smile and introduced himself. “My name is Yusufri Al’dabari, master of this here merchant convoy. You two must be some of the adventurers I hired as extra help. There seem to be six of you bronz…” He trailed off as he looked at their plates and their glimmer of silver. He frowned. “I put up the request for bronze adventurers, I’m afraid I do not have the funds to hire those of a higher rank.”
Jace smiled at the man, “No need to worry master Yusufri, we took the request when we were still bronze classed and we do not expect to be paid anything more. We are headed for capital regardless and figured we might as well do some work on the way. Some conversation along the way would help us get through the day.”
The man grinned widely, showing of his perfectly white teeth. “Well that is good news for me indeed, quite a bargain. I have some merchant guards of my own that will be traveling with us, the convoy will have a total amount of eighteen guards, adventurers included. The convoy itself will consist of twelve wagons and another twenty-six employees of non-combative origin, including myself.”
“Well master Yusufri, it would be our pleasure to travel with you.”
The portly merchant laughed, his belly jiggling from the intensity. “Not at all dear boy, the pleasure is all mine. Now then if you will excuse me I’m going to introduce myself to the other newcomers!”
The man waddled over towards a group of four bronze ranked adventurers. Jace glanced at Weira and smiled, “Guess there’s all types of people out there huh. He seems like a nice enough fellow.”
Weira nodded her agreement and motioned towards one of the wagons. Jace stroked his chin, “Actually lets ask the merchant where he would like us to take our position. We can introduce ourselves to our fellow guards at the same time.”
They walked over and joined the newly formed group, Yusufri was enthusiastically introducing himself and patting shoulders. The group of adventurers was barely anything more than teenagers. The oldest of the group a young man with black hair and green eyes couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old. The group was wearing shoddy leather armour. Their weapons and armour despite their wanting quality was well maintained. Whilst young the four of them at the least took their jobs seriously.
Jace walked over and introduced himself, “Hi there, I’m Jace and this is Weira. The both of us will be joining the four of you on this escort job.”
The young man with black hair stepped forward and bowed slightly as he introduced himself. “I am Floris, a rather new adventurer. I’m a frontline fighter, I focus mostly on defense.” Jace glanced at his equipment, sure enough guy had a round shield similar to his but had chosen a warpick instead of a sword as weapon. Jace nodded his greetings and Floris introduced the rest of his team. There was an oversized fluffy brown haired guy called Jerard, he used a claymore and was the appointed damage dealer. The third was a younger kid that couldn’t have been much over fourteen. He had messy brown hair and a bow slung over his shoulder, his name was Plip. The last member of the group was a girl with orange hair of all things, she was an Initiate and used magic to help her team from a distance. Her name was Qyra
Jace nodded a polite greeting and introduced himself as a dedicated frontliner similar to Floris. Weira he introduced as a midrange damage dealer and support mixed into one. He also added that she was mute, so they wouldn’t feel awkward when she did not answer any questions. After their round of introductions Jace rounded on Yusufri and asked him he would like them to take up positions. The merchant tapped his chin a few times in thought and sent them to the back of convoy. He would keep the majority of the guards eight in total near the front of the convoy. Four of them would cover the middle and the six adventurers would hold up the rear. The adventurers nodded their assent and took up their positions as the convoy left towards the capital. The trip would take them a little over a month in total.
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Jace and Weira talked a lot with Floris’s group. They had decided to become adventurers a little over a year ago. They practiced a lot and had grown up together, they carefully prepared for the dungeons and took up requests to make ends meet. Their highest level was Jerard at fifty-eight and the lowest was Plip at fifty-four. They did almost everything together so their levels were closely related. Jace and Weira told the group how they were still level zero. To the utter amazement of the teens, he explained how they used titles to make up for stats and used some magic abilities in the place of skills. This interested the group and they talked to each other with the idea of perhaps getting some of those titles themselves. They did not plan to walk the path of mastery but a few points in all stats early on would make a lot of difference to them in the long run.
The first couple days went by quietly, the adventurers spent a lot of the time each day talking to each other and they got along. They were happy that Jace and Weira didn’t treat them as kids. Jace had laughed at that and told them that who was he to judge, he was barely half a dozen years older. Weira was only two years older than Floris. Which had surprised the group, her stature and stoic nature had made them think she was a lot older than she was.
“So you’re only two years older than I am?” Floris looked up at Weira as he walked next to her, she was a good ten centimeters taller than he was. That compared with her muscular build made her seem a few sizes larger than the younger adventurer.
Weira nodded her answer to his question, then she made a whole slew of motions with her hand. Which Floris tried to understand but left him stumpt. Jace turned around and told him, “She said that she’s only been at this adventuring thing for about a month now. Although we have been training and been through dungeons before we even started as adventurers.” Floris blinked as he glanced between the two.
“You can understand what she’s saying with those hand motions, is it a sign language of sorts?”
Jace grinned and shook his head, “Nope, I can read her mind. Liv called it a symbiotic bond of combat brethren. Or some such fancy shit.”
“Language!” Qyra said as she shot him a glare. Jace held up his hands in mock surrender and shot the girl a grin. Jace suddenly froze, he spinned and roared. “We have incoming! Prepare for battle!”
The whole convoy became a flurry of action, the employees gathered in groups and stood behind the people in charge of their area. From the bushes to their right a group of grufflings charged. Armed with their shoddy spears and tattered furs. Jace and Floris took up position at the front, they left each other enough space to swing around their weapons while staying close enough together that they could help should it prove necessary. Plip, fast little kid that he was, had already loosed an arrow that took one of the grufflings in the eye. It went down hard and tripped up two of its comrades behind it. He felt Weira take position behind him and slightly to the left. He saw Jerard do something similar but slightly to the right of Floris.
Another arrow zoomed between them and hit another gruffling in the neck. The boy had phenomenal accuracy. He heard the uttering of a chant behind him as Qyra used one of her skills.
“The laws of the world, shine on my brethren. Protect them from harm so they may survive this ordeal. Sheltering Warmth!”
He felt a soft glow of warm mana cover his skin. Sheltering warmth was an area effect spell that covered the people the caster viewed as allies in a thin layer of mana that would protect them from a hit or two. A useful spell in all regards. Another arrow zoomed past him and hit another gruffling in the face. Then the green little bastards where upon them. Jace caught two of the things on his shield and shoved them back. A quick stab took on that tried to get past him in the throat. Three thin blue needles shot from above him into the foreheads of three grufflings, they went down in a tangle of limbs. Taking two of their comrades down in the fall. Jace punched one that tried to get too close in the face, he then twisted his blade and blocked a blow headed for Floris. He hefted his shield and blocked a hit aimed towards himself.
A roar made the group of adventurers freeze for a brief moment. Jace glanced past the ranks of grufflings and saw an ogre. “Focus the grufflings! Weira slow it down!” The lovely viking had already started her spell before he even finished talking. The glyphes appeared in the air and snaked around the limbs of the ogre slowing it down. Jace sped up and started recklessly attacking the grufflings. He had to finish the majority of them off before the ogre joined them. The kids would be in danger otherwise. He let himself fall into the rhythm of battle, he flowed from on enemy to the next. His cuts swift and deadly. Soon there were no more opponents in front of him. A swift glance to the left told him the kids were still engaged to a number of them. A move from his chin and Weira went over to help them. Jace ran over to the ogre.
The monster roared and tried to bring its small tree-sized club to bear against him. Jace dipped under it and tried to cut at the creatures knee. He abandoned the attack as fist descended on him from his right. He stepped back in the nick of time, the air from the passing fist ruffling his hair. His eyes narrowed and he continued to occupy the ogre, he kept trying for attacks but this ogre was experienced in battle and would not let him near his feet. The creature threw a punch only for it to be a feint, the club swished through the air. Quick reflexes barely brought the shield up in time. The club smashed into the wood and Jace let himself get pushed by the force. He was flung back a few meters, a quick roll and he was back on his feet. Sore but alive.
He rushed to re engage the ogre, he did not have to kill it he just had to keep it busy till the others were done. He had barely been fighting the towering monster for twenty seconds when he felt Weira step in behind him. He smiled and dove forward, the club was aimed at his head. He dipped beneath it and saw a glimmer of metal aimed at its wrist. The creature howled as its hand dropped to the ground. Jace grinned and made use of its flinch to cut it’s heel and make it fall to its knee. Plip took advantage of the moment of stillness and shot an arrow in its eye. Jerard roared a challenge of his own and swung his claymore in a wide powerful arc and chopped into its shoulder. He had to dance back and leave his blade suck in its bone when it countered with a swing of its own. Jace dashed forward once more and thrust his blade into its throat. A gurgle of blood and the creature toppled forward, Jace dove to the side and only just managed to avoid being caught beneath it. He grinned at the group with a bloodstained smile.
“Well done team, that was some amazing shooting Plip!”