"Ahhhhh!!.....Mmmm…." Rastel let out a deep yawn and stretched his body while in a sitting position letting out a deep moan afterward.
'That little bit of rest felt quite good.' He thought to himself.
He had gotten tired of having his body lay down on the hard concrete of the battlement floor and was eager for a soft warm bed.
The rest of the group were still chattering animatedly with each other but when Rastel stood up and yawned, they suddenly stopped and looked at him.
"Hmm? What's up?" he turned to look at them.
"N-nothing…..." Vars turned his head to the side.
He didn't know how to explain to this person that suddenly moaning out loud should be very weird and very uncomfortable. Although Vars gave people the feeling of being brash, he was actually quite conservative in some situations.
Roxanne seemed to roll her eyes but didn't say anything and Baluu just shook his head as if in shame.
'These people have something against people yawning?' he thought for a minute before suddenly realizing something.
"Hey! It's not like that! It's just that relieving all that stress felt so good so it's a subconscious reaction!" He immediately tried to defend himself.
The rest kept quiet as if they didn't hear him.
"Hey! Really! Do you think I'm a pervert? Going around and moaning anyhow? It was unintentional…. Really!" he could feel the labels getting attached already.
"We believe you." Roxanne said weakly.
"You don't sound like you do!"
After that little episode, Vars invited all of them back to the Vulcan smithery to eat and rest which they all gladly accepted. Rastel especially hadn't eaten any proper food in-game for a while and was looking forward to it.
Although he wanted to log out and rest, he also wasn't against spending a little time with the rest after a hard-fought battle.
According to the tropes and stereotypes of fantasy, a warrior should eat good food, drink good beer, and generally celebrate after a successful mission shouldn't he?
Just as they were about to move out though, they heard a quiet cough by the side and they all turned simultaneously to see who it was.
But turning to see that happily smiling mustached face, all of them involuntarily squeezed their faces into weird expressions as they saw Sacha beckoning at them.
"Little Vars, are you going back home?" Sacha asked amicably.
"Yes sir…" Vars nodded quietly.
"That's okay, the issue has been mostly dealt with anyway and you definitely can't go outside or your father would have my head." Sacha chuckled to himself.
'This man is here behaving so jovially, someone passing might think he was actually a good person.' They all gritted their teeth as they looked on.
"Anyway, it's alright. Tell your father I would come over after ensuring everywhere is safe so we could discuss some more. You did a wonderful job today." Sacha patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"Yes sir, thank you sir." Vars replied with a monotone.
"All of you did very well really, I am very impressed. Especially you, Rastel. Tell me, have you ever controlled an array before?" Sacha turned to him.
"Not at all sir." He replied with a blank face.
"Really? You did so well I would have mistaken you for an array master if I didn't know any better. You are a mage anyway so I guess it should be expected." Sacha nodded approvingly.
Rastel only kept silent.
"Tell me again, have you heard of the 27 mage towers?" Sacha suddenly asked him.
'What is this now?' Rastel was confused.
"Just a little bit from here and there." He answered honestly. He really didn't know much about them at all.
'Is it not that place that is part of the game's scam operation to force people to join an organization?' He thought to himself.
Back when he was looking for more information on inscriptions, the 27 mage towers was one of the places he found out about.
Although he was against joining organizations, he couldn't help but decide that if he eventually had to go to a place to learn more things in the future, it had to be that place. His other option was a school anyway so it was no debate.
"Oh…. Well, it is alright. Since you are all going back to Grandmaster Vulcan's place then I hope we meet later." Sacha smiled before waving them off.
They all left with relieved expressions on their faces.
"Praise the gods." Baluu muttered under his breath.
They quickly descended the steps and started moving through town while they talked to each other.
Although Rastel chipped in every once in a while, his mind was currently preoccupied with other thoughts all centered around one particular thing.
'I need to get stronger.'
This thought never left him ever since he witnessed the town lord killing the two powerful beasts outside town. And after thinking about it, he decided to prioritize increasing his level first. Compared to other players at the very least, his level was seriously too low!
'That reminds me…' he swiped to his interface.
The mission to protect the town still hasn't finished yet so it was still pending.
'It should be until those outside are done clearing the remaining beasts and the town is deemed safe.' He easily concluded.
As for the mission to protect Vars, it also wasn't cleared yet. It probably required him to escort Vars back to the smithery first for the grandmaster to see.
The Grandmaster's Son – Rank C
The dwarven grandmaster Vulcan is worried about his son and the town is under the threat of a beast horde. He has asked you to follow his son to the front lines and bring him back to safety should his life be in danger.
Reward: 3000exp, The grandmaster's favor.
The quest details had updated back when they were in the smithery's courtyard with old Ferud. Grandmaster Vulcan had asked him to follow Sacha and protect Vars when they went to fight the beast horde.
The previous mission was only ranked D and didn't even have any exp reward, only the grandmaster's favor. But Rastel thought about it and considering Vars's young master Identity, he would normally experience very few threats to his life.
Now that the danger factor increased, the mission was raised to C and a generous reward of 3000exp was added.
'The only C ranked mission I have done before was in Laron where that innkeeper whats-er-name asked me to save the captured chief and the rest. The reward was only 1000exp, this mission would give me 3 times that. Although that mission had a kryts reward attached, I think the grandmaster's favor in this one should be much better.' He nodded to himself
The grandmaster's favor seemed like a very attractive reward to him. Considering grandmaster Vulcan's status and wealth, a favor from him should be worth quite a lot.
'Maybe I can ask for some overpowered magic weapon. He may not have staffs though since he is just a blacksmith. Maybe I can ask for a sword? If I sell it to that dumb retard Natsu, I can fleece him and get enough money for a powerful robe and maybe even a staff! I'm sure that fool won't be able to resist a sword made by a grandmaster.' He stroked his chin as he thought to himself.
"Hehehe… that's a nice plan."
"What's a nice plan?"
He suddenly lifted his head only to see the other three looking at him suspiciously.
"What plan is that, Rastel?" Roxanne who had asked the first time asked again.
"Ahem! Nothing, I was just thinking of…... what I would eat…...later and…. all…...nothing serious really." He coughed as he tried to dodge the question.
"I am beginning to think getting nearly scared to death by the big rat previously has damaged him up there." Baluu said solemnly.
"Hmmm…." Vars looked at him with a concerned gaze.
'I really need to calm down a bit.' Rastel revealed a wry smile and tried to laugh it off.
They had already reached the front of the smithery after walking for a while. The large golden doors with the carving of a hand holding onto an ingot looked as bold as always.
Following Vars's lead, they went through the doors which opened automatically and closed shut behind them.
______________________________________________________________________
In one of the popular inns in Eadon, a very boisterous environment could currently be seen.
Countless mercenaries had gathered here to eat, drink, and generally relieve stress. These people were mostly those that had just participated in the battle at the walls and had all gathered here.
Different races ranging from humans to elves, beastmen, and even a few dwarfs, both male and female shared the cramped building as they laughed and sung boisterously.
The innkeeper had hired a group of bards to sing and keep up the mood in the inn. If a player was there, they would find out that a buff of +3 MEN would appear on their interface if they stayed there for a while.
In a dark corner of the inn, however, two cloaked figures were sitting down facing each other at a small table and the mood was solemn.
They had just met and only shared simple greetings without any politeness involved. Getting right down to business immediately.
The larger of the two figures put his gloved hands on the table and his fingers were crossed in a business-like manner, he spoke without any nonsense.
"I have accurate information on the location of Sleeping beauty."