Chapter 30 – Preparations

Erwin

A cacophony of sounds filled Pinespire’s bustling marketplace. Blacksmiths, food vendors, and street peddlers, all hawking their wares to any potential customer. Adventurers in mismatched armor pieces were scattered all over, milling about to get the best deals in town. Any signs that these people were from an unintegrated world were fading by the day. Most people had acclimated to the new norm. But some went beyond that.

Erwin walked through the organized chaos of the city with a purpose. His shiny silver sabatons made a clacking sound with each step, signaling for the peasants to clear a path. His pearl white plate armor was a sight to behold, making the common citizenry either cast furtive glances of jealousy or swoon over him for his attention.

These last few months had been very good to him. Except the Arbiter/Treant dungeon break debacle, everything else had gone smoothly. In fact, even the dungeon break, which was a calamity for most, had been a blessing for him. Before the disaster, he was the highest-level player in Jadefall, leading the strongest adventuring party. The only thing he was not able to do in Jadefall was improve his reputation with the village head. Try as he might, he couldn’t gain an audience with the foolhardy old man. All thanks to that leech, Jenny.

He had spent weeks training her to be his perfect personal maid, even providing the leech with food and shelter. He was doing the dead weight a favor by training her to do something useful. And after all that, his reward was jailtime and a hard hit to his reputation. He had no idea why the Arbiter had even punished him. Its not like he killed her; she had a resurrection token after all. He was merely training her with some tough love the way his father did. A little bit of pain would have been good for the annoying redhead.

But thanks to the dungeon break, he had gotten a fresh start again. A second chance to climb the political ladder of the larger city. And using his gaming knowledge and tactics, he had a meteoric rise both in levels and social standing with the NPCs. He had contacts in every major sector of politics, from the business consortium to the army rank and file. Luckily the news about his earlier exploits in Jadefall had not spread, since most people who knew about it didn’t make it out, his adventuring party of 3 included. The march through the infested forest was brutal and him being the paladin tank had made sure he survived. His party’s rogue, ranger, and healer were not so lucky.

As Erwin climbed the steps to the gigantic building before him, he puffed out his chest and walked with pride. This was the favorite part of his day. The numerous heads turning to him with bedazzled eyes always made him feel good. This is how he imagined all those fabled heroes he read about felt. And now, he was one of them. The MC of his own adventure.

“Captain Erwin,” came a loud call from his right. It was the assistant guild head of this branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, an older woman of impressive stature. Her emerald green hair were cut short, and her dark green leather armor was meticulously polished. No weapons were visible on her, but no one was foolish enough to take her on, either in direct combat or from the dark. She was a dedicated leader, and a shrewd politician. Of all the interactions Erwin had with her, not once was he able to break the walls around her. Her piercing gaze always made him uncomfortable. Like she could read his very subconscious intentions.

“How may I be of assistance, my lady,” Erwin said in a flattering tone. Though it grated at him, he had no choice since she was the last obstacle between him and guild leader. Try as he might, the old fox had blocked his every attempt to meet the guild leader. It was almost as though she knew his plan in detail, an impossibility unless she had a method to actually read minds.

“Oh shush. I am no lady, and you know that very well Captain,” the woman said as she stopped in front of him with her arms crossed. “I just wanted to remind you of your upcoming interview tomorrow morning. And since it is such an important position, I have been granted permission to conduct it myself.”

Erwin clenched his jaws to avoid lashing out at her. “I was of the impression that the guild leader would be …,” he began in a polite tone before being cut off.

“He has other commitments. So, I am filling in for him. Make sure you are on time,” she said crisply before turning and walking away.

Erwin clenched his fists in frustration while maintaining a calm demeanor. He had learned his lesson about retaliation against those in power. So, he gave a light bow for everyone else to see before marching on. He always hated games that had reputation mechanics. This was no different, so he would deal with it the same way, begrudgingly.

Even though the assistant guild head had called him captain, it was not set in stone till the swearing in ceremony. It had taken him countless hours of back breaking and tedious reputation building quests to earn the spot of an adventuring captain. It would give him certain powers over other adventurers, but more importantly it would give him direct access to the mayor of this town. Another political circle he was not able to break in yet. Hence, it infuriated him that despite all that he had gone through, he still needed to clear an interview, a demand put forth by none other than that conniving woman.

As he reached the restricted section of the building, he merely tapped the thick wooden door before casually pushing it open. At least the honorary position, had allowed him some benefits. He walked into the luxurious room with dozens of comfortable couches and tables scattered about. Hardly 8 people were present though, since this was the common area reserved for the elite of the guild after all. He walked up to the bar and took a seat next to a particularly attractive blonde. He cast identify on her.

“May I buy you a drink, my lady,” he said in a smooth, mildly seductive voice. The woman was 6 levels below him, and fair game in his opinion. He sometimes shocked himself on how confident he had become. A byproduct of his dashing good looks and chiseled body. He couldn’t even imagine doing this back on Earth, for no woman would even acknowledge his existence even if he tried. The girl eyed him once over without turning her head. And after Erwin felt a tingle run down his spine, a tell-tale sign of someone casting identify on you, her demeanor changed to curiosity. She gave him a light smile before turning her chair towards him.

“And who might you be? I don’t remember seeing you around,” she said with a hint of curiosity.

“Ah, where are my manners. I am Adventurer Erwin, soon to be Captain Erwin,” he said with a flourishing bow before turning to the man behind the counter. “Barkeep, a glass of your most exquisite wine, for an exquisite lady.”

The barkeep gave a polite bow before disappearing behind some shelves in the back. The lady had an amused smile by now and was suitably impressed. He started regaling her with some of his adventurers over the last few months, some of his exaggerations making her giggle. He had perfected his art over many bars and drunken trysts. Just when he thought he might be getting lucky tonight, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

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“Seems like you have quite a few tales to tell. May I join in?” a deep male voice said in a faux threatening tone. Erwin turned around with the intention to ask the bloke to get lost when his voice got caught in his throat.

An imposing 8-foot giant stood behind him, in full set of blood red barbarian style armor. The imposing armor barely held in his impressive muscles, which featured some nasty scars. Erwin completely forgot what he was about to say and stuttered a few incomprehensible sounds, making the big guy sneer savagely.

“Oh, Eskad. Meet soon to be Captain Erwin. He has some impressive feats. You two should really have a heart to heart,” the petite blonde spoke in a mischievous tone. Her particular emphasis on the word ‘Captain’ made Erwin’s gut churn. She turned to him with a wide smile and added, “And Erwin, please meet my husband, Captain Eskad.”

Erwin froze like a deer in headlights. All the confidence he thought he gained in this new reality evaporated in an instant. He abruptly stood up and gave a bow to the two elite adventurers. “It was nice meeting you. I just remembered; I have some quests to turn in.”

He made a beeline for the door in a rush. The last thing he heard before the door closed behind him, was the roaring laughter of the room’s inhabitants.

………………

Aenon

The forest was deathly quiet, with only the occasional insect or hidden bird making any sound. Aenon lay flat on his stomach, covered in his full Abyssal armor set. The equipment’s passives coupled with his mana manipulation, made him a literal ghost that no creature within the forest could detect. Not even the 15-foot high treant that he was currently stalking. If his plan went well, he would get to see the creature in action for the very first time.

A low rumbling sound disturbed the eerie silence. As it grew in intensity, Aenon could feel the ground start to vibrate. He could sense the hidden creatures getting restless as they retreated further down their hidey holes. The rumble reached a crescendo before a tree suddenly toppled over, revealing a roiling mass of bison like creatures thundering towards the lone tree in the clearing.

…

Aenon’s vision was flooded with dozens of nameplates as the stampede burst forth. Bane and his pack had successfully lured a pack of Radiant Bisons to the clearing that the treant was in. The Bisons had glowing hoofs that emitted disorienting flashes of light, giving Aenon a headache. He stopped casting Identify and closed his eyes, relying on his soul sense instead. He counted at least 64 of the frightened creatures, being corralled along by 5 dire wolves. Just as the entire herd entered the clearing, the wolves broke off and went around the designated kill zone, towards where Aenon was currently hiding.

“It is done, Alpha,” Bane’s voice sounded in Aenon’s head. The entire pack dove into Aenon’s shadow as they caught up. Due to their connection, Aenon was able to share his senses with the wolves when they were in his shadow. And so they waited patiently as the tsunami eventually reached the dormant treant.

For a moment Aenon thought the malicious creature would continue to pretend to be a regular tree and let the tide pass. But as the lead Radiant Bison got within 5 feet, things changed. Unlike last time, when the treant used vines and roots to catch and strangle the goblins, this time the whole tree moved. Within the blink of an eye, the tree uprooted itself and stood to its full height. In place of an unassuming tree, there now stood a giant bipedal creature with a humanoid face.

The entire body was made up of thick barbed vines, and the creature had a nasty set of claws on its elongated arms. It started scooping up Bisons and dropping them into a gaping maw that had two-foot-long stakes for teeth. Its pupil-less eyes glowed an eerie bluish white, and its entire body was soon covered with deep crimson blood. By the time the herd passed through, a quarter of their number had fallen prey to the monstrosity and Aenon detected the treant gain a level for it.

This was the same Treant he had encountered on his first day back to the formerly named village of Jadefall. Just as he thought it might be over, something truly weird happened. The charging stampede came back and went for a second pass through the clearing. Confused about what was going on, Aenon opened his eyes and used his soul sense along with his mana sight. He was finally able to see tiny yellow spores in the entire clearing that had traces of wisps attached to them. As he continued his observation, he saw the herd turning around and continueing to make multiple passes through the open area.

After about six passes only two Bisons were left, and they had stopped their charge. They seemed to be looking around in confusion and would charge away from the treant, only to be returned to where it was.

“This is quite strange, isn’t it?” he asked Bane.

“Yes, it is, Alpha. We always stayed away from these accursed creatures after it took down three from our pack. We saw them enter the strange clearing and never exit. It's also strange that the Bison return to the clearing so quickly. Stampedes are notoriously difficult to turn. But the exit and entry points are too close together.”

Aenon gave it some thought before realizing the damn thing was manipulating space. Once you enter the area, there was no escape.

“Well, this complicates things,” Aenon muttered to himself. Fighting a creature that had a good command over an affinity he was weak in, and that was a hard counter to his daggers wasn’t an easy job. He needed a plan. He kept brainstorming for ideas as he observed the last two Bisons being slaughtered before the treant returned to its former dormant state.

“What can we do about this, Alpha?” Venge asked. She had not left his shadow at all, since she was expecting to give birth any day now, and his shadow was the safest place there was. “We can’t enter the clearing without getting trapped, and we can’t be sure we can kill it even if we do.”

Aenon smiled at that as he suddenly had an idea, “Well it’s obvious if you put it like that.”

“What is?” she asked, but Aenon refused to elaborate and backtracked away from the clearing. He found a relatively safe spot by a stream about 2 kilometers (~1.2 miles) away and sat in the lotus position next to it.

He started focusing on his internal mana and made it gather near the palm of his hand. With precise control he made a mana orb outside his body and started injecting water wisps into it. Once the mana had taken the form of water, he started shaping the sphere into a pointed shape. He then froze the shape into ice by removing heat aspects from it. There was a miniature ice arrow in his hands.

The wolves, except Venge, had come out of the shadow and were looking on with curiosity. Aenon then hurled the arrow across the field into a tree using both water and air manipulation. The arrow shattered on impact but left behind a thin layer of ice where it had hit.

“If we cannot enter the field, we just kill the thing from afar,” Aenon said with a smirk. “I have been playing around with different elemental manipulations for a while now. Now I just need to combine them. As an Abyssal Warden, I can freely manipulate multiple wisp types and create my own rudimentary spells. They may not be as powerful as a specialized mage, but I am infinitely more versatile.”

The only downside was it took time and preparation to practice the spells beforehand. And so, he went about practicing different combinations to see which one worked better against a wooden opponent. He spent hours draining his mana pool multiple times in quick succession, and then meditating to reflect on his progress while it refilled. When he got exhausted, he slept, when he got hungry, he ate, but never once did he leave his practice spot. The hours slowly turned to days, at which point he even forgot to eat or sleep. The wolves took turns guarding him, while the others hunted for food nearby.

After about a week, Aenon finally ended his last meditation session, which had lasted an impressive 14 hours. He was surrounded by a field of destroyed tress, some burnt, some cut, and some frozen entirely. And then there were some that simply ceased to exist halfway from the ground. Aenon stood in a clearing of his own making, with nothing but dead trees around him.

“Alright, Bane. It’s time to head out,” Aenon said calmly. He was done with the preparations, and now was the time to see what it got him. Every other creature he had faced so far, he had relied primarily on close range combat. That too while solo. This time he was with his pack and would test his ranged combat abilities.

Bane barked once, calling for the pack to assemble. Within seconds seven abyssal wolves stood before Aenon. This would be the first true fight that the entire pack would be taking part in. With their lives on the line. And Aenon could sense the emotions bubbling off his pack brothers.

Excitement. Anticipation. Confidence. But not a single wolf had a shred of fear, as they all marched off to what could possibly be their doom.