CHAPTER 12
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Parker POV
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“I am totally sleepy now. When we fall asleep, we were immediately awakened by animal attacks. Did I mess something when we change shifts? I am sure that I told everyone to wake up if they met enemies and together we counter the attacks. But it was only E monsters and animals. A single fireball is enough to kill it. But if I told them to counter the enemies by themselves, I feared we will encounter the high-level ones. If I am not mistaken, there were B-level monsters here only 1 meter in length right?” I try to strike up a conversation to get rid of my boredom and drowsiness.
“It is Revenger wasps. If you kill one of them, you will get hunted with the rest of their nest. In the book, it is described that their behavior is like a reckless soldier. They will hunt their enemies in all-out assault if the enemy is weak or they will split up and attack in countless waves as to weaken the enemy and kill it.”
“That’s a nasty opponent. They will not let us rest huh?”
“Yeah. By the way..... I think we accidentally injured one on the attack before.”
“Ehh?” suddenly a chill came into my back. Wait, what is she talking about?
“Huh? You have never seen a revenger wasp picture? It should be in our book.”
“I haven’t gone that far. Wait... among D and E rank bugs before..... One of them is the wasp?”
“We should learn about it at the end of our semester. But we haven’t gone to that point.” Stella gave a sigh. Wait, we are in crisis now aren’t we. Why are you so laid back?
“Huh? Parker, your face seemed pale. What happened?”
“Don’t ask what! Aren’t we in deep shit right now? It is B rank, right? It matches that blue rhino!”
“Individually, they are D rank. In a group of up to 10, they are C at most. What makes them feared is their waves of relentless attack. If there is only 1 of us. Even A rank will have troubles. But we are in a group, and we have shifted to lookouts. Their second strategy is meaningless. And for their first strategy, we will use area attack magic. I will cast a fortress-like magic like the one Fay used, and the rest of the magicians will cast their spells. On average, a revenger wasp nest is around 1000 to 2000 armies. With the strategy I mentioned, in 1 hour, the enemy will be obliterated.”
“Ahh. I see.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “You read it all huh?”
“Yes. Not just their spec but the strategy against them. It is important to read them.”
“Well, let’s put that strategy to use. I sense some movement down there.” I pointed towards the woods. “200 meters and they approaching us.”
“Are they in groups or are they in mass?”
“Hmm... I think their number is no more than 20. So they are using a second strategy.”
“If we can defend against this assault for 3 days, they should let us pass. They will know they have no chance. Or they will switch to the first strategy. But their number will be greatly reduced.”
“What detailed information.” I praised her wholeheartedly. She talks like she remembered the entire book. Even though it is a minor class.
“Well, we should be able to finish them. Here they are!” I brandished my sword while Stella pointed her hands upfront. In front of us, a wasp as large as a kid appeared. That was really huge and that sting on its but is like an ice pick. Just seeing it really gives me chills. There are about 20 of them
“Fire breath!” from her hands a flamethrower spewed out. The wasp scattered after 10 or so of them were burned and defeated.
“Ha!” I dashed and cut 1 of them, then another. Stella was directing her flamethrower toward the closest wasp that tried to attack her. And so within 15 minutes, all wasps have been obliterated.
“That wasn’t so hard,” I mumbled
“Yeah.”
“It was totally different than belue rhino. Are you sure there are on par? Can this thing even able to damage that rhino's thick skin?”
“Hmm... I don’t know... Even if they are classified at the same level, there are various circumstances.” I looked towards the monsters' carcasses. Hmm, if I am not mistaken, isn’t this thing also at John’s quests?
“Stella, is there any of John’s quest that mentioned this wasp?”
“Yeah. We are told to collect its sting. And its venom glands. There are 2 or 3 quests from his that mentioned this.”
“Wait, they are venomous?”
“The venom isn’t lethal. It might cause you to be paralyzed for several minutes at worse. For people that have body strength talent above B, it might wear off in under 20 or 30 seconds.” Yeah, right. If I get stabbed by that ice pick I might die before the poison even reacted.
“John is picking another dangerous quest! I need to scold him.”
“The quest is level E. “
“Huh?”
“The quest told us to collect its sting. It is classified under collecting not subjugation quest. The quest literally told us to find revenger wasp carcasses and pick its sting and venomous glands. It isn't John’s fault to pick this quest, he might not even know what revenger wasp is...”
“It is a scam...” I was shocked. This world isn’t that nice. I need to double my guard from now on.
“Stella. Another group. It is a bit smaller than before.”
“Okay.” Stella expressionlessly prepared her magic. It is another flame breath. This assault continues until dawn. They really are relentless. The other teams were informed and we managed to deal with it. The others complained they can’t get any sleep with the noise of the spell and the sword.
“Now what shall we do?” Hart asked in the morning while John and the twins were handling the wasp.
“We don’t have anything to do. John, what quests were left?”
“Let’s see. Subjugating 2 goblin nests. The revenger Wasp quest is cleared so we don’t need it anymore. Catching 4 autumn deers alive. and catching 4 escapecows and escapegoats.”
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“escapegoats?” everyone makes a wry smile.
“They are very clever in running away, hence the name.”
“Alive?” I asked
“A local barn request them to increase the livestock in the city.”
“I see, they are edible.” Nana pondered
“Are we going to eat it?” Nita made a worried smile
“No. Let’s just fulfill the quest. “
“all of them are C except escapegoats and cows which is B. They aren’t strong. Just troublesome.” John added. It seems only that belue rhino is the hard one.
“It is just the first day. We still have over 13 days. We should take it easy.” Nana answered
“yeah. We completed 4 quests in just a single day yesterday and we only need to complete 4 more. If we go at the rate of 3 days per quest we can still make it.” John said. “I think the only time-consuming quests are escapegoats and escape cows.”
“If possible, can the guys take on the goblin quest?” Nana turned around with a cramped smile.
“Why?” hart asked in a carefree tone
“Umm... goblins are... you know... they smell and...” Nana tried to make excuses. When I look at the other party members they also have the same expression saying they didn’t even want to look at it. These creatures are looked down on far worse than poop by females huh?
“Nope. At best, you will support us from the back. I don’t want to do it either but goblins are standard enemies of this nation. We need to get used to it.”I replied with a stern voice
“Okay, today, while warding off revenger wasps, we will be raiding a goblin nest. A nest usually has up to 20 goblins. An intermediate spell is enough to destroy it. Watch out for ambushes.” John made a briefing for the next quest. He is like a teacher in a school camping ground if we ignored the content of his briefing “This quest is supposed to be C- but please do not underestimate it.”
“And that’s it. let’s go.”
“We are leaving everything here?” Chloe ask
“ Don’t worry. We won’t travel far, any unnecessary luggage will be put inside the tree and we blocked the entrance. there won’t be any insects trying to grab it. though it might be weird to say this, there is no animal here that is smaller than 50 cm. We will spot anything that is trying to intrude on our camp.”
“It is sad that we are not at the top of the food chain here.” Chloe sighed
“Hahaha” I dryly laughed at her comment
“Size is not everything here.” Nana interjected “though humans aren’t exactly the top, humanoid creatures still rule this lands. With exception of dragons though. But they rarely mess with us.”
“Thanks to magic huh?” Hart commented.
“Yeah. In the end, intelligence still prevailed. Ahh, there is the goblin's nest.” I warned
“Huh?” everyone tilted their head
“It’s the smell. Damn, it reaches even here....” I made a sickening face. “It should be several hundred meters that way.”
“Ahh, right. “As we get closer, the smell intensified. Everyone made a sick face.
“They are worse than pigs,” Nana said
“The smell is about the same. Their lavatory is pretty much their bed. The Goblins' ecosystem is like that. They can poop everywhere and they also smeared their urine on their weapons to make it infectious. Because of their habit, they evade most predators though. Even crows won’t eat their corpse I heard.” Stella explained it in perfect sync with our textbook
“Urgh.” Everyone made an ugly face worse than having their feet step on animal poop
“And their treatment towards women of a different race....”
“Stop it Stella... we don’t need to know. Let’s annihilate them.” Nana said as she readied her wand and sword.”Their nest is that way, you can see it right? Will and Stella, let's bust it with your highest spell.”
“This is the first time I see them but I feel goosebumps from it. Please destroy it without a trace everyone.” Chloe said with disgust and Nita nodded strongly
“They really lived up to their name huh? They are essentially lower than dogs and pigs.” I muttered
“I am ready,” Stella said. That was fast. She doesn’t waste even a second
“Wait a second. Umm.... dark cloud... that brings forth lighting.... okay, I am ready. Give the mark.”Will said after he concentrates for 1 minute.
“Hart, Riki, Riko, brandished your weapon. Now, blast them!”
*Boom*Boom*
Will and Stella each cast their thunder spell and the goblin’s nest 50 meters away was blown to smithereens.
“Alright. John and Chloe will pick the one that is running away, hart, Riki, Riko, let’s blow through them!” I shouted and we charged through the nest. From 100 goblins, only 10 survived. Chloe, John, Nana, and Nita quickly took care of them without delay. The vanguard didn’t even have to do anything. Well, if we can take care of them without touching them, then that’s good.
“So, we should just take their tribal chief’s bandanna and it’s over?” Hart asked
“Yeah, that’s the proof. For the rest, we can do anything about it.” John answered while trying to decipher the quest he took.
“Hurry up. I want to go home already!” the girl was being noisy. I can fully understand though. I want to get out of this stinking place as soon as possible too.
After that, we went towards our base camp. After getting rid of several wasps, we went to sleep. This field trip is getting boring. But our powers aren’t that strong, we can die for real. Even though we are a little above average, it is no good getting arrogant. Am I too cautious?
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Richard POV
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“Hey, this is boring. This test is too easy for them!” Bane watched the hero’s group from the tree.
“Why did we have soo much trouble in the past, I wonder....” Fay gave a wry smile. I am sure she is reminiscing about the past when we went on a similar academy excursion trip
“They should be a beginner like us. Their strength is a little above us before receiving faith crystals but their experience is far below us. Before this trip, they should be facing one monster first as a trial run but they didn’t do that. Instead of blaming the test, we should look at their competence.” I answered calmly analyzing their behavior
“But Richard, we can’t measure their full competence like this. We already knew that Parker is a reasonable leader. We also already knew that Stella is literally their walking encyclopedia. This test only proves that.” Und replied
“Yeah. What we are looking for is their reaction to a life-threatening situation. Can Parker still stay composed? Will the group just run for their lives like newbie recruits? Will they sacrifice a useless guy first to save their own butt? That’s what the king wants right? To assess each individual personality.” Bane answered.
“The group pretty much followed whatever Stella and Parker said. But each of their own needs to become a leader. So far only Nana and Parker are acceptable in leader personality.” Und commented “Stella may also be a good choice but she is extremely quiet. I can’t figure out what was on her mind.”
“She has amnesia. She might not know what she is thinking. But, I can assure you that she is a genius.” Fay said her assessment. She has a good relationship with Stella so I can trust her. But a smart head doesn’t mean a good leader. She often gets tongue-tied and she speaks very vaguely. Her plan is complex to follow. Though I do not question her ability as a mage even a single bit, her ability as a leader is questionable.
“For me, I prefer Hart. He is quite a brave kid. He can control his fear. I like it.” Bane commented.
“I would vote for John then.” Und unexpectedly gave his vote. Wait, since when do we vote for our favorite character?
“Huh? Why? He looks extremely normal to me.” Bane asked tilting his head in confusion.
“Well, he might not be good in the regular army. But if they are from mercenaries from freelancer groups, I think he has some potential.” Und answered.” Just a feeling though.
“Just a feeling?” Fay muttered
“He often visited the guild in his free time. He is also quick at befriending other sellswords. Well, he can’t match Parker though. Just saying that we should recognize his ability.”
“Hmm...” this Hero group. They aren’t as naive as I thought. They are gathering information at an alarming rate. Even though they are barely reaching their seventeens. Their political moves and actions were already above that of average nobles. No wonder the king was extremely worried.
Their moves are extremely coordinated, and even though I never see Parker directly ask them, each of them frequently visits the freelancer guild at their own convenience. It’s like they are preparing to leave this country.
Freelancer guilds exist anywhere, by registering they are already independent. They aren’t like knights, their souls are free just like the term "free" from the freelancer guild. They didn’t want to be dependent on the country huh? But they haven’t disobeyed us even the slightest, which means they knew they can’t oppose us as they are. The demons are drawing near but these heroes aren’t that trustworthy.
“Richard?” Fay asked
“Let it be, he must be thinking. I already knew that look.” Bane shrugged me. “His dull behavior is like that Parker.”
“And this dull behavior already saved your lives several times Bane. Please respect them.” I gave a cold look to him. This guy just isn’t thinking at all. Can you take responsibility if something happened? You also need to think about the reaction of some nobles. Not all of them are good-natured you know. And even if they are good-natured they won’t accept a half-hearted explanation.
“Richard, will we cancel the trip?” Fay asked
“No. Such an order hasn’t been given. However, the king already warned us to prepare. When the order really came, all of us will go to Berlin. That also includes the heroes. We also will hold the faith ceremony there.
“I see. The king already thought of everything.” Fay made a satisfied smile.
“Your face is a mess,” Und said as he looks at my face
“Their talent is obvious. But throwing them right inside a war is... It can’t be handled with talent alone, you also need to know that in the war, the field will change regardless of your plan or will. I am worried. And they haven’t seen humans die either.”
“You worry too much.” Bane scoffed
“Yeah. Maybe I am. Let’s just wait. Thinking like this is his majesty’s job. Not mine.”
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Parker POV
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The day after that went uneventfully. The goblins were no match for Stella’s and Will's magic. Autumn deer was also not a problem. When we surround them, they suddenly turned obedient toward us. The real problem starts with Escapecows and goats. They went running immediately when they sensed danger. It is quite incorrect, they went running went we approached within 200m distance. Their senses were sharp. With 200 meter difference, even Hart cannot catch up. Almost a week pass by and we just got 1 goat. At worst we might get a penalty for these 2 quests.
“Firing from afar will only kill it. Stella can’t fire her spell at its legs from that far.” Nana complained
“Sorry.”
“No. Don’t be sorry Stella. If you can do it you will be the weird one.” Will retorted
“Well, even an experienced hunter in our world will need a sniper rifle if he wants to shoot at its legs. Asking a newbie mage with only her eyes and beginner staff will be too unrealistic.” I replied.
“Will we abandon this?” John asked.
“Not yet. We still have 4 or 5 days. Let’s give it a go until the very last. If we were to abandon it, we will have nothing to do for the next week right?” I replied
Actually, seeing that behavior, an effective idea sprang to mind immediately when I see it twice. But I was reluctant in using this. Well, it’s not like our lives depended on this quest. This quest was merely playing around. No need to risk danger just to capture it.
“Well, I can outrun it in 5 minutes, but we will be over 10 kilometers apart then,” Hart said
“No good. We are newbies. Even if our powers were above average, our experience is nothing. I do not want any risk. We can’t go anywhere alone.” I said it.
“We are already here over a week, right? I think we can do that idea you know?” Will said to me. That idea was simply to separate ourselves into 2 or 4 groups and surround it from afar. But if we were to get ambushed by some unknown monsters, the group will be done for.
“Let’s just find injured ones like before?” Chloe asked
“It isn’t that simple. Luckily, we manage to find one.” I said
“We can follow them and help them when they are being predated by others,” Stella answered. I knew, but, aren’t we putting our priorities reversed that way? Isn’t the predator of escapegoats and cows which are supposed to be level C mean the predator level will be higher? If we met level A, aren’t we screwed?
“Alright, let’s follow it. And we will help it but, only if we knew the enemy.” I replied.
“Sure.” Everyone reluctantly replied.
“Hold it!” a shout was passed behind us.