After that scuffle it was decided for us newbies to train on own paths and to get stronger. It was against the original plan but I was given supervision by the veterans. But so far Mr. Williams stayed with me to check on my status. Rebecca and Tyrell went back to their own guilds in order to keep up the demand on the skills that were needed if we ever want to go on another expedition. Our main goal for now other than to survive was to get funds and go on missions both in and out of Cletus. If we want to find a way to survive the continent then there would be a need for finance and information. Rebecca did what she did best, research and gathering of intel. Rebecca took mostly jobs as a messenger related to the satellite colonies outside of Cletus. If there was anything new happening at Laputa, it would be first around the satellite colonies. These were spots were pretty much rest stops for most adventurers around the continent. Rumors would often fill around these areas. So places like these would be an information goldmine.
Tyrell on the other hand was in charge of letting us know details on what is happening inside the capitol. In the producer community there would be rampant ideas in terms of manufacturing of items. Whatever comes into his ears will be judged whether or not these items can be used in the field. As for me and Mr. Williams, most of our quest were related to outside the capital. Me and Mr. Williams needed to get better in our combat skills as we were very rusty. I had thousands of skills still untapped and he just got out of retirement. The only way for us to get into shape was to get out in the open. So far as long as it was in the range near Cletus then we would be fine. It's almost been two weeks since then. As we were doing our thing, our group would meet at Hanami once a week for any of our findings. It was already Friday and the next meet up is tomorrow. Me and Mr. Williams had been on hunting jobs for the last couple of days. We took some side quest with them but it was hard to keep up with most of them since the hunting quest took most of our time.
The last request took us two days to finish. It was hunting down a dozen rabbits down for meat. We were able sell the pelts for extra money but just tanning them took a lot a time to begin with. To make up for lost time I even made some of the pain relievers and hangover cure powders for the Gentle Hand guild. It was only for half a day but I managed to make a box of them. Gentle Hand took care of the retail while I was at the sidelines. It was stressful but it did make ends meet.
But now today happened to be an easy one. Today's order was deer. Deer had been one of the most common animals to appear in Laputa and they are to be sought out for good reason. Not only they are a good food source but have cause a lot of deforestation across the continent. Often times these dear would eat the saplings and seeds of the trees, leaving for most of flora to die out. Some say due to the effects of the HAPs, it affected the biology of several animal species. For the deer population, their fertility rate became increasingly high. Deer now can be seen in herds as they vastly multiply. A deer in Laputa can actually give birth to ten infants in average sometimes even more. Their growth spurts even increased making them turn into full grown adults around four months. As far fetched as it sounds, the theory itself make a bit of sense. If it were possible for Terrans being able to use magic after being in an HAP, it wouldn't be far off that events such as these would affect other beings differently.
Right now me and Mr. Williams were wandering in Detroit. We got a rumor from Rebecca relayed to us yesterday. A couple of people from Fearsome Willows guild were talking about a large group of deer that appeared awhile back. Some of the members decided to hunt them down for only to forget the massive size of the group. Even if they used guns, the group only managed to hunt down at least five of them. But at other cases it looked as if they were able to snag at least between two to three of them. From what we can tell it looked as if the deer in the continent were easily spooked by quick movement and loud sounds. So in the end, unless you got a semi-auto or full automatic firearm, the amount of deer you get is the equivalent to how many shots you can give out or the ammunition you can hold...give or take at least.
Our best shot to find deer in this place would happen to be in the forest area far up north, past the bridge. It was the same place where me and Gram happened to pass during my initiation request. From what we can hear it looked like the deer herds happen to be migrating from North to the south. We really don't know why but it was better of for us to kill is some buck while there's still time. For all we know the herd could be going off somewhere else after a few days.
Belle island was where we were at the moment at early morning. If only we could last bit longer but it was better off for us to leave like this. The days end a lot faster in Laputa. We would need all the time we can get if we wanna make it to Cletus in one piece. After a simple bag check the two of us were able to be on our merry way. I look at Mr. Williams as he felt relieved to see his weapons back with him. "It's so good to be back with Lindsay." The war veteran said out loud. I look at him in rather awkward. "You gave your weapon a name?" I asked him out of pessimism. "All people name their main weapons."
"So you named it after your dead dog?"
"Yeah. Even when I was at Afghanistan I named my rifle Lorraine."
"Your bitch of a wife?"
"Exactly…broke when I caught her cheating on me too."
"For all I know you could have called it 'Whore Squealer'."
"Yeah, Yeah. Very funny!"
Mr. Williams pushed me in a playful manner. We laughed a little and went on our way. The forest got a bit denser and the grass got even longer the last time I came. It was about at the length near my waist as I can barely see a snake pass near me. Before I can even get a knife out, Mr. Williams got my arm and stopped me. "Save the space for the deer. I'm planning to get a buck. All the more for the horns." He told me. "So we're here for the horns? What for?" I asked. The man took out a flyer from his pocket. "There's a market for deer antlers. Apparently they can be used for medicine." He told me.
"Like that stuff from Chinatown?"
"Yeah. They're selling for eight silver."
"Should we go for deer penis too?"
"Why would we get buck's dick for?"
"I've heard at some TSA related show that it's a good aphrodisiac."
Already weirded out, the man had a raised eyebrow and dropped jaw. He then closed his mouth and had a look of denial. "Why is it everything having to do with animal genitalia always being paired up getting a man's wood getting hard?" He asked rather confused. "Beats me." I tell him, "They say eel makes you hard but I've cooked unagi a couple of times and I didn't feel shit." We discarded the conversation after that and went deeper into the woods. The terrain was still the same and trees along with flora were growing out of the trees and sidewalk. The asphalt road had weeds still grown through it as nature was taking over at a fast rate.
The both of us kept walking until we were cutting our way through with our machetes. We kept on doing that for awhile until something came in front us. We heard the galloping of hooves as loud as a symphony of drums. We ran as fast as we could for us to find a new trail. I look at the fresh made path and tried to identify the hoof prints on it. My guess was right, it turned out to be a bunch of deer tracks. "Maybe we should get going." I said as I turned towards Mr. Williams. But just like that I see something else. It was a buck cut in half from belly to spine. "Who do you think might have done this?" I asked. "More like 'what'. The cut looks too jagged and rough to come from a blade." He told me.
"You think we can still salvage it?" I asked.
"Nah. For all we know the fangs of the monster that cut it in half could you have poisonous saliva or something. Leave it." He insisted.
We decided to discard the deer corpse and follow the tracks. The tracks went on for a long length. The amount of steps we took was at least the distance of half of a football field. Soon my old companion got worn out so we decided to catch a break against a tree along the trail. Mr. Williams then started to catch his breath as he was wheezing. "Told you those cigarettes would come to bite your ass." I told him. "Shut up(wheeze) and summon those bird spirit thingies(wheeze). We might need a bird's eye view." Mr. Williams told me as he was catching his breath. I then took a paper charm and summoned a bird shikigami to fly above us. I closed my eyes and the ground below was full of dense forest brush. I kept on soaring the shikigami a bit further as the connection between us and the talisman was getting a bit weaker. It was there I managed to reach the sight of a herd of deer. They were at meadow full of short grass. "I found the herd. Should I kill one of them now?" I asked. "If you do that then your bird thingy would blow them up to pieces." He says, "We would need them whole so let's just hunt them on the spot."
The two of us proceed to follow the tracks. As we approach the meadow, Mr. Sander and I ready our weapons. Mr. Williams cocked his crossbow as I drew my bow. Mr. Williams slowly peaked through his scope. "This is a huge herd." He said. "Maybe we should go for the nearest ones and get on with it." I suggested. The man looked silently at his scope as there it was again. He had that conflicted look at his face. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You might wanna rethink about 'going for the nearest target thing." He insisted. Rather suspicious about what he said, got my binoculars and looked where his eyes were. I soon saw two deer mating in front of us. The weirdest part was that we were looking at their backsides as they were humping. Yep...those happen to be the nearest to us. "This feels kinda wrong, don't you think?" I asked. "Yeah...I'm rather conflicted in cock-blocking an animal to death." He told me.
"Should we circle around and find other targets?"
"I rather not. We could chop another path but that might scare them away."
As conflicted as the man was the man just signed. Mr. Williams then stabbed a knife against the tree next to him and puts his crossbow on top of the side of the handle. It made a makeshift rifle perch for him to keep his weapon steady. "Fuck it. I'll aim for the buck on top, you go for the doe at the bottom." Mr. Williams ordered. I was rather alarmed on how fast the man was able to get over it. But then again this was Mr. Williams I was talking to, ex-marine corps/ UN peacekeeper veteran. I started walk forward and get on with it. "Alright but I need to use a trick shot. I might scare them if I go away from the trail." I told him. He gave me the 'okay' sign and went a bit forward. It was a bit too close for comfort but I managed to reach a good distance behind the tree. I readied my arrow and was set to release. Mr. Williams then gives a sharp whistle. At the same time we released our shots. Mr. Williams did a far ranged shot with his crossbow while I did a curved shot. He hit the buck from back to chest while I did a shot at the side of the breast. Both of the deer fell and dropped like daisies and it alerted the herd. The herd screamed in fear and they ran for their lives.
We came out of the brush and into the meadow as we saw both of the deer slowly dying. The both of us then got our knives and slit their throat to finish them off quickly. Just like that their blood drained out instantly and they soon died. At least the worst was over. All we had to do was hoist us the carcasses and drain the rest of their blood. Mr. Williams hands me some rope and the both of us dangle the deer up to a tree upside-down. All that was left for us to do was to wait till it was ready to skin and butcher them. We then opened a few MREs for lunch. "I thought Gram was supposed to come with us today?" I asked. "Some emergency request came to Oak Cinders yesterday about some new breed of moose around Cletus called, Lifter Blades." He told me.
"Lifter blades? So rare variants?"
"Yeah they're a kinda dangerous. They would lift their prey by stabbing them first then cutting them in half while hoisting them up in the air."
"So these are carnivores?"
"Omnivores, but these things kill more for sport rather than to eat them."
"Laputa biology is weird."
"You don't have to remind me twice."
The man and I started to chow down to our meals as the MREs were already letting out steam from their packs. Mr. Williams got jerk chicken while got enchiladas. While eating, the red sauce reminded me of the deer we found split in half. It was only now that I realized that. "You think that deer we found at the beginning of the trail was attacked a Lifter Blades?" I asked Mr. Williams. The man looked at me rather surprised. He swallowed his food and gets stuck in thought. "It's possible but then again there's another reason why the species has been ordered to be killed." He pointed out. "And what would that be?" I asked. The man is lost in thought as he couldn't remember what it was. But soon the man snapped his fingers and knew what it was. "They've been damaging the forest by sharpening their horns with the trees around the area. And not just one tree, sometimes even five to eight of them." He told me. But after hearing that, my sight had been aligned to something. It turned out to be seven separate trees, having a concave bore towards the inner trunk of the three. "You mean something like those?" I asked as I pointed towards the trees.
The man adjusts his glasses to look where my finger was at. But just like the man dropped his spork and curses lightly. He then takes his crossbow and points it at the horizon. "Get your bow ready." He told me. Took my bow and was about to draw my weapon. But it was there I heard a hard sigh with the smell of rotten flesh. I felt an intense aura behind me as it pulsed through my spine. Our opponent was behind us. "The shitty animal is behind us, isn't he?" He asked blandly. "I don't wanna look but it looks like it." I mumbled. The beast roars and charges towards. The both of us do a dodge roll at opposite directions to escape it by an inch. There we see the Lifter Blade moose. It had two pairs of gray horns, one much of a moose while another like a bull. Its whole body was jet black and had red eyes much like a rabid dog. It then goes for another pass and charged towards us. "What now?" I asked. "Stay in front of the tree. When I give the signal, dodge roll to the right again like last time." Mr. Williams instructed me.
We stood there as I waited for the moose to come towards me. It kept on getting closer for every galloping from it's hoods. Danger was right in front of me as I saw the animal's bloodlust. At that brief moment the man whistles and we dodge roll once more. But as I managed to get away, the moose's horns meet the tree. But instead of getting stuck, the horns jaggedly tear the tree in half. "What the hell are those even made of?!" The old man shouted. "Fantasy clichés that make you lose your shit in real life!" I shouted. The both of us started to bolt and grab our packs. "What about the deer?" I asked. "What about the deer?! Haul ass and forget about them!" Mr. Williams shouted.
Just like that we were running like hell as we went for the opposite direction. As we started sprinting at the meadow, the Lifter Blade moose was closing in. "I'm out of ideas. You got any?" He asked me. I then threw a knife behind me blindly. We soon hear the sound of tumbling behind us. I turned my head around as to find the animal on the ground with my knife in the eye of the moose. It started to huff as he was get pissed. "Well he's mad...what now?" Mr. Williams asked. As the moose struggled to get up, a past life came to light. It was the Ninja one doing parkour tricks in front of kids. I then sighed as I looked at the tree at my left. "I got one." I tell him, "You hide at the bushes but shoot until I give the signal. Cripple it while I distract it."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" He asked negatively.
I then groaned towards myself rolled my eyes. There I took out an arrow and mumble, "I'm so gonna hate doing this…" There I drew out my bow and shot an arrow between the moose's eyes. The only problem was that the arrow didn't even pierce through the skull. It just managed to stick halfway at the temple and got it more pissed. "Fuck!" I shouted. I then sprinted like a madman and went to my right. Soon the Lifter Blade moose was after me. It was catching up towards me with great speed. But I sprinted like hell as I saw the tree in front of me. There I ran up the trunk and did a backflip. The moose rammed and collided with the tree. But that time I landed on the beast's back and stabbed two knives behind it. I held onto dear life, riding on it. The animal started to try knocking me over. I then gave a loud whistle but fell off.
The moose was right in front of me as we stare eye to eye. It then raised on its hind legs as it was ready to trample me to death. But for a brief moment, a crossbow bolt pierced the moose's right hind leg and he fell to the side. Then as the beast was falling, I quickdraw my katana and gave a quick slice. The head then falls off and rolls down to the ground. The worst was over.
I fell at my back and started to catch my breath. Mr. Williams then comes out of the bushes with his crossbow at hand and looks at the damage. By the time Mr. Williams sees the head he lands at his bum already relieved of the result. "Fuck...I can't believe that worked." He mumbled. "I'm...never doing that...again." I commented as I was catching my breath.
As we laid on the grass something came out of the bushes. It turned out to be Gram with a spear on hand. He notices us from the distance and comes towards us. "The hell happened to you guys?" Gram asked. I then raised my hand and pointed at the moose we just killed. Gram's jaw dropped rather surprised to the site. "Nice going. Not bad for a bunch of rookies." He complemented. "I'm starting to miss guns now." Mr. Williams commented.
"Don't you have a pistol at your right side?" Gram asked as he pointed at the man's side.
"He means the full automatic rifles. I wouldn't mind using a carbine either if we need to deal with a few more episodes of this." I butted in.
Soon a few more people from Oak Cinders came as they were dragging a cart of five of those rare variant breeds. It looked as if Gram and the rest of his crew were getting a bit busy. Gram looks at the damage across the meadow and sees the full damage from the carcass to the trees. "Guess we're not the only one who's having a hard time with these bastards." Mr. Williams said. "Yeah. If these breeds keep on coming then I wouldn't be surprised others would even be discouraged to come out to these lands." Gram implied. Gram takes a good look at it but in the end he kicks the head lightly. "These bastards aren't worth their effort. Their meat is too tender to the point it gets stuck at your teeth. Good thing the horns sell a lot." He complained.
I stood up as I went up to the broken trees. One of them was where we hung the deer. The doe was mangled and squished under the trunk but the buck was still in one piece. I was rather disappointed as the doe was my kill. "You think we can salvage some out of the doe?" I asked. "We can still get the legs but looks like the body is done for." Mr. Williams answered. I then get my machete and started hacking away the legs. Mr. Williams then started to skin the buck and chisel out the horns. "At least we can make up with the horns." Mr. Williams said. "You got the dick?" Gram asked. Mr. Williams then goes back and snips away the genitals. "Rin, can I get some paper?" He asked. I then reached for my bag and gave him a few sheets. The man then wraps the organ into a cylinder shape and he puts it in a fresh plastic bag. "What's with genitals and medicine?" Mr. Williams asked with disgust. "Beats me. I'm not a doctor." Gram replied. Mr. Williams then tosses me the plastic bag for me to put in the sack. But as we were finished skinning and gutting the buck, the only problem was the moose. The moose was huge for its size but that was kinda expected. This was a new rare variant after all. He then gets his parang machete ready. "You get the rear. I get the front." Mr. Williams instructed me. I then unsheathe my machete and asked, "Should we get the genitals while we're at it?" He looked rather disgusted and paused before he can think of anything to say. He tried to says something again but he was once more lost for words. But eventually he told me, "Chop them off after we skin it. After that we get all the innards and then we butcher the rest."
The day ended weirdly as we didn't know what to do next. All the animals we caught were butchered but it was left with a large mound of meat. Me and Mr. Williams looked at each other as we didn't know what to do next. "What now? We can't bring all of this." I asked. Gram then steps in and takes the Lifter Blade meat. "I'll just sell these things for you, I'll give you the reward later at the meet up."
But before Gram gets on the cart, he mentions something. "After you guys turn those things in, make sure to update your guild cards at the guild association. They have some new system they're trying out called 'the talent indicator' sub-function." Gram told us.
"What's that?" Mr. Williams asked.
"It's some kind of program where they identify specialties. Lately there has been a need for hiring people in certain individuals with specific skill sets. This just makes it easier." He told us.
"So how does this work?" I asked.
"It's pretty hard to explain. The guild association will talk about it once you avail for it." Gram replied.
We said our goodbyes from there. Just like that the lizardman went on his way along with his party. Both me and Mr. Williams were still busy with a few more quest to fulfill before we can even back to Cletus. Kinda familiar when I think about it. When we were still at the surface most of us were worried about jobs and money. I guess our lives barely changed...other than monsters, assholes after our asses half of the time and everyday being a hack and slash.
There I get a bag full of salt from my bag and started to pour a bit of it in the save where we kept our meat. Mr. Williams then looks in his notebook and checks something out of his list. He looked rather satisfied and turned towards me. "It looks like we got everything for today. Let's head back to Cletus." He says, "By the time we reach the area it will be nightfall."
It was as followed. By a few hours we managed to reach the outskirts of Cletus. Within the outskirts at the edge of Detroit we were at the end of a forest. At that part we were in an old plastic shed hidden inside a grove of bushes. I was eating a snack as sunset was coming in an hour. I ended up killing two snakes and roasting them under a fire. We had one for each of us but Mr. Williams was barely touching his food as the guy was keeping watch. I then decided to start a conversation as I was getting a bit bored. "We're not gonna get any merits out of those rare variants, aren't we?" I asked the man. "We're not getting the merits but we can get the shillings." He replied.
"Why is that?"
"If we turned that in then it won't be as much as they are paying them. It would just be dragged as a gathering quest. Around a tenth of the reward of the emergency quest."
"What about the horns and antlers?"
"We would get a lot of money from it but it will just be a waste if it wasn't for the original request."
"But we won't get merits in this, huh?"
"The merits ain't much from the meat gathering quest either way. It's a small price to pay but at least we can get money out of it."
The man continues to keep a lookout at the distance with his binoculars. Where his eyes met was at the northern gate of Tetra. I joined him as I took a look at the gate. It was a long line just heading in back. People were flocking in a straight line and the patrols barely changed at all. Whether or not I was a citizen it would have been a big hassle just waiting there in the hot sun. But the biggest hassle was the carts and the various automobiles there. Those can take as long as twenty minutes to check. I used a bird shikigami to check the view of what was going on. There were actually a bunch of white carts and trucks at the gate right now. All of them had a banner of a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. "Who are those guys with the white banner?" I asked. "Olympus throne. One of the main guilds in Cletus. Its some kind of religious guild that accepts anyone as long as they have faith in Zeus." Mr. Williams answered.
"How about the one with the green banner with an elk?"
"The Forest Stags. It's a hunters guild that specializes in hunting massive monsters."
I soar the shikigami a bit further and there I saw a massive carcass of a dragon on a platform composed of three carts. I gave a whistle as I was rather impressed. "You weren't kidding about the giant monster part." I said. "Take a look in the carts below it." The man told me. I zoomed in and soared lower as I saw leather sacks inside, one of them with a goblin hand sticking out. I guess these guys do a lot of hunting. Yet there was another one. This one had floating platforms and buildings with green orbs at each corner and containers on them with Windows and doors. Much like hovering RVs. They had a blue banner with an owl resting on an open book. "As for the blue guild with an owl?" I asked. "Athena's Psyche. A very high end magic guild." He replied.
But there I saw something out of the ordinary. It was a rag tag full of individuals all ruffled up and covered in bandages. All were massively injured compared to the rest of the group. All of them wore different types of armor but the only thing that was the same about them was a red patch that they wore with a shield and sword. "Damn... what's with them? The guys with the red arm bands; They went through hell…" I asked.
Mr. Williams looked at the horizon and directed his gaze at my direction. His eyes go pale as it was something that he rather not look into. "Those guys are the Volunteer Army." He says, "They take ghoul slaughtering jobs and anything related to the Crystal Tower." That was a term that I haven't heard for a while. Last time I heard about it was back when we were still in East L.A. "I would get ghouls but why the Crystal Tower?" I asked him. "The Crystal Tower was what made this whole thing with Laputa began. Or so they say." Mr. Williams explains to me, "My guess is that some of the guilds must be with them to study the tower." Looking closely I see that The Volunteer Army wasn't the only guild that had injured members. Some of them had cast and bandages on them. Others had missing limbs. The kicker was in one of the floating trailers had a full medical team operating on someone.
I then put my binoculars aside as I took a good look at the line from the distance. "So this was like the fight of the last boss, wasn't it?" I asked him. "Yeah but we have other problems to worry about. Better to focus on living than dying." He told me.
We kept on watch till it was sunset. Soon it was close to night and not a person in sight at the gate. By then we got out gear and headed towards Tetra then Trium. We barely made it to the guild association before it was closing time. After we gave our goods we were given our shillings and the bill was passed. Our guild cards then glowed as merits came to increase our level. It didn't go up a level but just around twenty percent, just enough to level up the next quest we take. "So are you gonna go up a rank? You're past level twenty." The guild association clerk asked Mr. Williams. "I still need to meet a few things before I fit the requirements." The man replied.
"That's too bad. Hope you manage to reach your goal soon."
"You too."
The man puts away his card and we head out. Up next was the whole business about the talent indicator system. We went up to the service desk, only to find the receptionist filing her nails. Only a few seconds of awkward silence she begins to notice us. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" She asked us. "We're here for the talent indicator system." Mr. Williams said. The receptionist then asked for our cards and a sample of our blood. A few minutes later she comes out with our cards with a star on the bottom right side of our cards. "Just tap the star and it will reveal your status of your talents." She says, "We're running short on time so for now I'll just skip to the part where I hand you your manuals."
It was just done like that. By the time we reach the exit, the guild association doors closed and working hours ended. The both of us part ways and I decided to look for an inn. Walking past by the Rose Line there was still a crowd, just enough to fit the nightlife as drinking and partying fit the scene. A few turns later I managed to reach Hunter's Fangs guild just in time to hitch a room. I had the last room and all that was left was to get a meal. It was pretty lively down at the food hall. It was full of drinking and noise. Alcohol prices may been high but it was what kept the spirits high. I then took my power bank and decided to charge my phone. But as luck would have it there would be no charge left from it either.
Normally I would enjoy my meals with a good e-book from my phone but it was best to save as a fifth of the battery life was left. All I could do now was summon my scribe as I read the information I got. Using the Reference spell many times did give me new information but kinda surprised on what I got from cookbooks from preparation to preservation. But then again you do a lot of things when bored. Too bad the reference spell doesn't work on technology; it would have been a good way to read my e-books whenever I wanted to.
I decided to order the special. Yet there wasn't any surprise since it was deer cutlet and beans. It was the cheapest one there next to many deer related meals. With the deer population increasing so I guess the prices for it lowered overtime. Because of my new body it requires a lot of food to keep up with spells and stamina. The meal was big so it was enough to sustain my body for a night. It was a good thing I didn't order alcohol otherwise I would need to pay five more coppers. But with the money we got my guess was that I would be able to pay for the taxes coming up next week. All I could do now was enjoy my meal until sunrise.
While eating my meal I heard a dragging if a chair next to me. Before I knew it I pulling the hammer back of my 1911 and my hand on the grip with my index finger outside the trigger. It turned out to be Rebecca getting the chair across me. "Hey there. You holding up alright?" She asked me with a simple greetings. I then disarm my pistol as I exhaled out of relief. "I'm fine, just a bit jittery and all." I replied. Rebecca then pulls back the chair ad sits across from me. "You wanna talk about it?" She asked.
I nodded away as I started talking away of how my day went. Rebecca rather impressed of how it went, much went to disbelief as it was hard to believe. "So you killed a rare variant moose? I figured you were good but not that good." She laughed. "Take it or leave it, this thing is ridiculous as it sounds." I replied. Rebecca laughed out of the joke and poured me another glass of water. "It's actually kinda weird how fast you kinda progressed from the first time you came." She said.
"These past lives are pretty handy from time to time. I just wished they gave me less migraines." I replied.
"I guess that means your body is still not used to these new abilities. You're still getting worn out still by use of magic, huh?" She asked.
"Yeah… all the more it kinda strains my body if the spell is from my past life. Why?" I asked.
"Many of us were not used to it at first but you are really going overboard. Maybe you could use training." She told me.
"What kind of training?" I asked.
"You may have our skills from before but it doesn't mean we have the same bodies. Maybe you just have to get used to it" She implied.
Rebecca's meal came to her and the waitress put it on the table. It was fried pork belly with rice. My mouth started to salivate after seeing such golden brown meat. All the more for the rice since it's been awhile since I ate it. She sees my gluttony and I look back. Rebecca then puts a spoonful of her food near my face. "You know you wanna try it." She insisted.
Reluctantly I open my mouth and she puts the food in. I chew slowly as my tongue absorbs the flavor. As the food travels my throat, I felt satisfied but craved for more. Rebecca started to laugh as she saw the look at my face. I look away, only embarrassed out of my sudden expression. "You're like a Cat, Rin." She told me. "Shut up." I shut her down. The girl across from me laughed. My guard was down as she gave a cute expression. But by letting my guard down, giving an opening for Rebecca to snatch a fork of deer meat. But by tasting my food, Rebecca had a sour face. "That's... pretty dry. Taste like jerky but could use a bit of flavor." She said with a rather. "The baked beans give it a bit of flavor." I told her.
My friend then goes back to her meal and takes a few bites. Again that envy was felt in my psyche. "You should aim for level twenty. The pay grade on the jobs they offer at the guild association is kinda higher." She told me.
"I'm eighteen last time I checked. I wanna go for the harder jobs on my level but I'm kinda worried I might end up losing control with my demonic form." I replied.
"Sure but you can go for the item hunting missions. Certain items on demand are high on merits and shillings." She suggested.
"The only quests that are high on shillings and merits on my level are those crystallized Mana cores from ghouls. The closest place for us to find ghouls would be in Tondo. Like hell we'll be ready for ghouls in a massive scale." I told Rebecca.
"The Volunteer Army ask for volunteers for ghoul slaying maybe that would help." Rebecca suggested.
"Then there would be a slight chance I might change into my other form. With that then the purpose to keeping my form secret would be a sham." I answered.
Rebecca then looked rather puzzled after hearing what I had to say. She took a few bites from her meal to ease the brain teaser. "Reminds me of when I was starting out." She says, "When we came to Laputa I was barely a few levels. I took a few classes in self defense at middle school so I was kinda a lucky but in the end it was just hard to find jobs with the level that I had."
"It really can't be helped. It's not like there were many jobs to begin with. Mr. Williams and I were lucky to even find hunting jobs that pay high for beginners. But none of them were predators." I tell her, "The only thing that was actually close to training was the Lifter Blade."
"Huh…? You didn't even face any anthropomorphic kinds of monsters?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"We've been at Detroit for awhile and most of the ones we dealt with animals from the surface." I answered.
"That is weird… I thought there would be more bandits." She wondered.
"There are but I rather not risk it. I may have a healing factor but the old man doesn't. For all we know there might be a one with a gun." I told Rebecca.
Rebecca then called a waitress to order some beer. As we continued to talk there were more plot holes when it came to both get merits and money. The stout kinda helped as the problems we're stacking. "So what do you do now? Honestly you guys need to talk about this stuff." Rebecca asked. "Tomorrow night the group is gonna do a meet up at Hanami on information we got." I told her.
"Oh yeah Tyrell told me about that yesterday." Rebecca added.
"How you doing? You're doing okay with all the missions, right?" I asked.
"Just fine. I managed to get to level ten yesterday. Me and my guildmates have been on a lot of co-op with Hunter's Fangs in a couple of missions." She replied.
"That's a relief. How about Tyrell?" I asked her.
"I don't see him that much but he is something. He's getting pretty handy in repairing and making metal works. Enjoying it too." She told me.
"That's good to hear. At least he's doing better now." I replied out of relief.
Rebecca then gives a snicker. I raise an eyebrow, rather suspicious. "For a second there you sound like a dad." She told me. My face turned away as it turned red. "It can't be helped. You're my friends." I pouted. She raised her eyebrow rather intrigued. "Speaking of training, you should train with me in the morning. Maybe that can keep you into shape." Rebecca implied.
"I don't wanna intrude." I denied.
"Come on! You were the one wanting to become stronger, didn't you? Maybe this might trigger some memories of your past lives." She insisted.
She did have a point. Even if I was good with a sword and a bow my martial arts in hand to hand combat is still a loose end. Almost all of them were skilled in martial arts from Chiron's to the world war two past life. The only problem was they came into fruition in by luck. There would still be a chance for it to fail when it happens. Plus my body isn't still used to these skills either way so there would be massive benefit. "I don't see why I can't. I'll join in." I agreed. "Good. I'll make sure you don't oversleep." Rebecca replied.
Soon Rebecca felt pain at her right shoulder. "Damn, I knew I shouldn't have done that extra shift, my arms are killing me." She complained. I then took my backpack and hand something to her. It was a paper sachet full of powdered medicine. "I got some powdered medicine, order some water with it." I insisted. "Whoa, you got these? These were sold out at Gentle Hand." Rebecca said.
"I just managed to make a new batch two days ago. This is my stash." I answered.
"Really? Is it alright?" Rebecca asked out of concern.
"Just don't tell anybody." I replied.
Rebecca takes the medicine from me and orders some water. "You don't need to be nice to me." She said. "We are gonna train tomorrow either way. Besides it gets lonely doing things alone half of the time." I insisted as I looked away. But without knowing, she stares at me weirdly. "Is there something at my face?" I asked. Rebecca then snaps out of it and gives me a rather pessimistic stare. "You know if we get past the bloodshed, bootleg Devilman, and the violence...sometimes I wonder how you are not in a relationship yet." She said in a rather disappointed voice. My face turns red in embarrassment. "Just give me a break will ya!" I shouted all flustered. Rebecca laughs at my reaction. But at the corner of my eye I noticed something. It was the table of Oliver Sage and company giving cold stares at me. They looked at me rather ominously as it made catch my breath. Did I do something wrong? I have no idea.