The three then walked up to Isabel who was still standing at the same place. Klaus said to Isabel “Hi we have found a new member for our party.” Isabel replied “No problem. Can you tell me the name of your new member?” Klaus put his hand on Harry’s shoulder and replied “You should already know him, right?” Harry was surprised by how Klaus bluntly asked Isabel. Isabel then looked at Harry with an annoyed expression as she said “You ended up spilling everything don’t you?” Harry was embarrassed and replied “I’m sorry…” Isabel let out a long sigh and replied “Hehh… I knew that it would end up like this.” Isabel then answered Klaus “Yes I’ve known Harry for a while. We came from the same hometown. I’m sorry that I put him out for this. But he is a good guy and has exceptional skills, you have my word!” Having Isabel’s word as an Adventurer’s Guild staff assured Klaus of his decision to let Harry join the party. Klaus replied “Dont worry I have decided to add him to our party. I just needed to see your reaction hehe.” Isabel once again put on an annoyed expression as she said “I have registered Harry as your party member. Now if you’ll excuse me I have work to do. And Harry…” As she looked at Harry, she continued “Good luck out there” before leaving the three. Harry replied “Thanks Isabel.”

The three then proceed to leave the Adventurer’s Guild. Klaus said to Harry “Oh right. Before you joined our party earlier we had taken up on a quest to mine silver ores on Durden Mountain. Would you join us?” Harry replied “Sure! But is it okay though? Having to share the reward with me?” Despite being gullible, Harry was direct and straightforward when talking about money. Batara then took out the quest scroll and read it aloud “The quest scroll mentioned that the requester also accepts any excess materials from the mountain and will personally reward them.” Klaus replied “Perfect! The more the merrier then. Even so, I think we should split the reward evenly among the three of us so that everyone works equally. What do you guys think?” Harry replied “I’m in! I will surely do my best!” Batara doubt that it will hardly be fair since he himself knew the difference of power between him and Klaus while he also didnt know anything about Herschel. However, since he didnt have any solutions to offer either he decided to agree with Klaus’ decision and nodded in response.

Klaus said to the party “It's settled then! Let's head to Durden Mountain” before the three walked north from Quarzith City to Durden Mountain as an adventurer party. As the party walked, Harry asked “Hey I didn’t catch the name of our party earlier. What is it?” Klaus replied “Obsidian.” Harry replied “Cool! Like the stone.” Harry then asked again “Have you been to the mountain?” Klaus replied “Yep. I’ve trained here for some time.” Even though Harry asked a lot, Klaus didnt seem to mind, since when he was only with Batara, they spent most of their time in silence. On the contrary, Batara was annoyed by Harry’s constant questions, but he didnt act upon it since it was not him who had to deal with those questions. However, Klaus was curious as Harry kept looking around while constantly asking about the surroundings on top of him having quite a distinctive accent. So he asked “Earlier at the guild, Isabel said that both of you come from the same hometown. Where are you from?” Harry’s face lit up in excitement as soon as he talked about his hometown “I’m glad you asked! I’m from a coastal town on the easternmost part of Mithraya called Nusa Sol.”

Klaus replied “Whoa, you’ve really come a long way! No wonder you looked so unfamiliar with everything.” Even though Klaus was being quite upfront, he was still able to appear friendly due to his easy going personality. Harry gently laughed in response and said “Hehe is it that obvious? Everything just felt different. From the people, buildings, and even the environment.” Batara felt a similar feeling with his hometown even though he didnt come from as far as Herschel did. However, the only emotion he experienced was a sense of unfamiliarity, not attachment, as there was nothing pleasant for him to remember. Klaus then replied “But its exciting right? Discovering what the world has to offer while gaining countless experiences.” Harry replied following Klaus’ words “and finally return to make your hometown a better place! That’s a fantastic way to see it, Klaus.” Klaus replied “Or brought changes to where you landed. It can be whatever you want to achieve. Right Bats?” Batara thought both Klaus and Herschel were being too overly optimistic without thinking about the process. However, having such thoughts for a goal was undoubtedly better than Batara who only has vague life’s purpose, so Batara replied “No argument there.” Klaus laughed proudly hearing Batara’s approval. Batara on the other hand, grew curious about what Klaus actually wanted to achieve because he seemed to have it figured out already.

After hours of walking, they finally arrived at the foot of Durden Mountain. At its base, a lake stretched out, surrounded by a peaceful stillness, with no villages or settlements in sight. Klaus said “We have arrived at Durden Mountain. I think we should rest here, the sun is almost set.” Harry looked up and replied “Whoa you’re right! I got too caught up talking and forgot about the time.” Klaus then said “Alright, should we set up camp near the lake Bats?” However, nobody replied to Klaus. Klaus then turned around to find that Batara wasnt behind him. He then asked Harry “Hey Harry, where’s Batara?” Harry turned around and replied “He’s right behind… Oh no he’s not here! Did something happen!?” as his face turned into panic. Klaus felt a dejavu and replied “Shit! We must’ve left him behind. Let’s go back and find him.” Harry immediately replied “Okay! He shouldn’t be that far off.” Judging by how Batara is, Klaus thought it was possible that he got left quite far away. On the other hand, Harry seemed to be able to match Klaus’ pace just fine which means that he must also be as physically trained as Klaus.

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The two then ran back on their trail to find Batara. After not very far off, Harry spotted Batara and said “There he is Klaus!” Klaus shouted “Oi Bats!” However, Batara didnt respond and was lying face down on the side of the road. Klaus then checked on Batara and said “Looks like he fainted.” Harry then took initiative and said “I’ll carry him, we’re not that far from the foot of the mountain” before lifting Batara and carrying him on his back. Harry seemed to not mind doing it even though they just met. Klaus then asked “That’s so nice of you. Is it not too bothersome?” Harry replied “Ah don’t worry, I carry the kids back in my hometown all the time so this is easy for me.” Hearing Harry’s response, Klaus giggled while holding his laughter “Pfft..” Harry felt like he said something he shouldnt have and replied nervously “N-not that I see him as a kid- please forget I said that.” Klaus then burst out laughing and said “HAHAHA you sure are a funny guy!” The two then walked back to the previous spot at the foot of Durden Mountain.

When they almost reached the previous spot, Batara woke up and realized he had been carried on Herschel’s back. He then said “What happened?” Both Klaus and Harry were surprised but glad that Batara finally woke up. Klaus then said “Looks like you fainted due to exhaustion. I’m so sorry Bats! I forgot to manage my pacing and you must’ve tried hard to keep up.” Harry also said “I’m sorry too Batara… I got caught up in talking and didn't pay attention to my surroundings.” Batara then remembered what actually happened. He was indeed exhausted, but he fainted not because of that. As he was exhausted, he tried to tweak around with his Magic Toolbelt so that he could lessen his own weight and make his steps lighter. However, as he put his mana into the belt, his body suddenly flew upward quickly. He then immediately shut his mana down completely in panic making him fall hard on the ground and become unconscious.

However, Batara was too embarrassed to admit it, so he went along with Klaus and Harry’s statements and replied “It’s okay, I’m fine now. I can walk on my own” before he patted Harry’s shoulder and got down from his back. Batara then said “Thanks Herschel.” Herschel replied “N-no it’s okay really. And you can call me Harry.” Batara didnt respond. The three then finally arrived once again at the foot of Durden Mountain and stopped near the lake. Klaus then said “We were planning to camp here since the sun was almost set, is it a good spot Bats?” Batara looked around and gave a thumbs up, gesturing approval. Klaus replied “Alright let’s set up camp here.” Harry’s face then turned pale as he said “Guys… I forgot I haven’t bought any supplies for camping. I just sort of followed you two and didn’t expect to come this far. Sorry!” Klaus replied “Ah my bad I should’ve told you, we’re going on a 5 day quest. By the way…” Klaus paused for a while before scratching his head and said “I forgot to buy supplies too. Only potions hehe.” Both Klaus and Harry then looked at Batara like he had a solution on his face. Batara was indeed prepared with supplies in his magic bag, but it was only enough for himself since he was low on money. Thus, he pinched his forehead in annoyance and sighed before saying “Hehh… we should gather some on the mountain before it gets dark.” Klaus and Harry nodded approvingly yet guiltily.

The three then went to hike Durden Mountain. The road on the mountain is paved with rocks, surrounded by an abundance of greenery. Thanks to Batara’s survival knowledge, the party was able to gather enough supplies when they were still not far from the mountain's base. As the sun was setting, Klaus said to the party “Have we gathered enough Bats?” Batara replied “Yes this should last for a while.” Klaus replied “Alright we should head back to the lake, it's getting dark.” He then called Harry who was collecting firewood “Oi Harry let’s head back we have enough supplies!” Harry replied “Got it!” as he stacked up a lot of firewood on his shoulder. Klaus then ran to Harry and said “Let me help!” and grabbed half of the firewood from Harry’s shoulder. Harry replied “Oh thanks!” Batara shook his head and wondered if those two meatheads were trying to build a house with that much firewood when a few shouldve been enough to make a fire that lasted through the night.

Unlike Obenvale’s forest, Durden Mountain was quite dark without illuminating flowers around. So Batara casted a basic light spell “Illumination!” that generates a light on the tip of his scepter. However, the light was quite weak and only gave a limited vision. Suddenly, the light around him grew wider even though the light from Batara’s scepter didnt change. Klaus then said “Bats look, your vest glowed!” Batara looked down and realized that the pattern on his vest glowed just like when he was in Jaram’s ruin, only know the patterns didnt came out of his vest. Klaus continued “How cool is that? A glowing vest. That makes you a Glowing Bats!” Batara felt embarrassed and annoyed at Klaus for making fun of him. However, since both Klaus and Harry seemed occupied with firewoods, Batara kept the light on and replied to Klaus “Shut it Klaus.” Klaus giggled in response and Harry smiled awkwardly. The party then headed down following Batara’s light.