Melisa is currently collecting some herbs in the Sacred Altar to make her potions. Samael sees her after leaving the storage room. He was searching for ancient transcripts for research.
"You're so hardworking, Melisa. Making antidotes after gathering all those herbs?" He walks off to meet her. Melisa notices his voice and quickly turns around.
"Ah, Samael...After the fight with Fiora, I ran out of important potions, so yeah..." She shows him her bag, which does not seem to have any curing potions. Samael nods a few times, understanding her situation. He decides to help her gather some water from a nearby well.
"I'll help you collect some water over there, at the well. Oh, by the way, Lord Weigner will assemble us a few hours from now. He said it is time to begin our next journey. From what I heard from the Elite Forces, we will head out to some sort of a spiritual forest." Samael sends her the important message. Melisa nods lightly. She then walks off to the storage room to find a small spade. After taking a few early steps, her left foot is entangled in a small root. She loses her balance and is falling, but Samael quickly catches her.
"You're hopeless...what if you hurt yourself...?" He helps her to stand back on her feet. Melisa blushes, feeling embarrassed about it. Samael walks off to meet Elina, who promised to meet him for some bulletin tasks by now. Suddenly, his right foot is entangled in the same small root. This time, he is the one falling after losing his balance, but luckily, someone catches him.
"You're hopeless, man. Can't even see the damn root after saving her?" Cyril is the one saving him. Melisa lets out a sigh of relief.
"Gah, no need to catch me, big guy! I'm fine, just careless. Darn I feel so embarrassed, being saved by another guy in front of Melisa..." Samael covers his red face. Cyril smirks as he sees him. Melisa is being dense as usual, confused about what happened to Samael being embarrassed.
They part ways after that. Good preparations must be made, since they will travel outside the empire later. Melisa goes to the alchemy laboratory. She makes various materials in the synthesis cauldron using the gathered herbs and waters. Samael and Elina are pasting some notes at the bulletin boards, updating them and removing old notices. Rein is training in the archery room, trying to master his new moves and tricks. Cyril is at town, hanging out with random rascals in the games centre. His delinquent side still exists within him.
After a few hours of preparation, small tasks, training, and entertainment, the Rose Garden members assemble in the main hall, where Lord Weigner, Instructor Wilson and Council Freud are waiting. The Elite Forces are all there as well.
"Fellow honored fighters of Sun Empire, the reason I summon all of you is to examine a secluded, mysterious place called the Cursed Woods. Council Freud will explain the details. I will provide a brief explanation about your given quest. You are assigned to examine the cause of malfunction in the teleporting system in Cursed Woods. From the local hunters words, there is a crest on top of a large tombstone that acts as a main switch to activate the exit portal. Unfortunately, the crest is missing, probably stolen by someone. I need all of you to search for him, since Cursed Woods is a large forest, and it is very unusual. Upon entering, you are all separated into different sides of the woods. So, a large number of strong people are needed to complete this quest." Lord Weigner halts his words. He then nods at Council Freud, letting him explain the details. The Rose Garden and Elite Forces members are all ears, serious about hearing their new quest.
"Generally, Cursed Woods are a restricted place for inexperienced travelers. You will need an in-depth knowledge about it, as well as an inside map. I tried my best to provide the latest map, but I don't know if it is the same as now. Still, it's better than nothing. There are four sides inside the woods. East, West, North, and South. We have no idea where the tombstone is, so sending a few people should be worth the time needed to search for it. As for the weird ancient magic inside there, it's inevitable. The magic is so powerful that none of our explorers are able to seal it. You guys will be separated for sure, so better find ways to regroup and search for the missing crest, then finding the tombstone. This will be a long quest, so we pray for your success and safety." Council Freud walks off to his office room, trying to find the maps. Instructor Wilson smiles and calls for attention.
"Here are a few items I will give you guys." He gives a tracking device, communication gadgets, and small weapon refinery stones to Knight Sigrun.
"Tracking device is used to locate your other party members. The range is up to a whole continent, which means this device will fail to detect them if they are in other continents. The communication gadget is used to call each other when you guys are separated, which I find very useful. Lastly, as you all may know, weapon refinery stones are used to repair your weapons when their durability is poor. Not so confusing, right?" He smiles lightly after handing over the items. Knight Sigrun feels relieved, since he was worried if they are not given any tools for their long journey.
"All right, it is time to move. Commander Layhunt is waiting for you guys in the Empire's main entrance door. All the best for your journey, and I hope you can complete the quest with ease. Hurry up now, you don't want to keep Commander Layhunt waiting. I will see you guys in Vendant Fortress, since I have a long errand there." Lord Weigner kindly tells them to go and meet Commander Layhunt at the entrance door.
The Rose Garden and Elite Forces members walk on a clear royal path that leads to the entrance door. Melisa is somehow excited about their new adventure, but she feels afraid at the same time if someone evil is waiting for them in the Cursed Woods.
"Ah, crap! I haven't eaten my breakfast..." Marksman Johnson endures his growling stomach. Siren Hilia is face palming herself as she sees the idiot hunter. Marksman Johnson sure is forgetful.
"Here, take this meat bun." She hands him a piece of meat bun. Marksman Johnson thanks her as he takes it. Warrior Pijanes takes a glimpse at Melisa and smiles lightly. He wonders if she is able to support all of them. Looks like he will have to avoid getting hurt that much or else she will get tired.
After a few minutes walk, Knight Sigrun spots Commander Layhunt standing at the entrance door, waiting for them.
"Commander Layhunt, we have arrived. Lord Weigner told us to follow you. What are your plans?" Knight Sigrun greets him. Commander Layhunt lets out a sigh of relief. He thought they would not come, since he waited for half an hour.
"We will teleport directly into green plains center portal area using this travel stone. I hope you guys are ready. No more important things left behind? Are we all set to go?" Commander Layhunt takes out a travel stone from his pouch.
"I believe all of us are ready, Commander Layhunt. Let us begin our adventure to retrieve the missing crest now." Knight Sigrun takes out his sword and points it to the sky, a sign that he is ready for upcoming battles. Everyone else smiles, ready to go and examine the Cursed Woods. Commander Layhunt nods.
"Travel Stone, take us to the center of green plains!" The travel stone emits radiant turquoise lights that cover their presence. A few seconds later, they are teleported into green plains center portal.
"The Cursed Woods are over there, located at the north side of green plains. We will have to walk to there. It will take a few minutes, and considering that there may be wandering monsters, we should probably arrive there by an extra ten to fifteen minutes. Don't worry too much though, the monsters in green plains are not that strong. You guys should be able to fight them, right?" Commander Layhunt begins his steps, leading the Rose Garden and Elite Forces members. Knight Sigrun nods at his comrades, hinting them that they will follow Commander Layhunt, but should remain behind him, since he is the front line.
They all walk on a vague path that leads to the Cursed Woods entrance. Along their way, there are a lot of neutral creatures. Jellypops, wild bunnies and tamed bulls, nothing dangerous. They spot a giant treant close to the woods entrance, a hostile creature. Commander Layhunt charges at it with quick speed, alerting everyone that he will perform an attack.
"Aura blade, unleash your spiritual powers!" He takes out his sword and slashes the treant, dealing bonus damage, since treants are weak against slash attacks. He calls for Marksman Johnson to fire some bullets.
"Fire!!!" Marksman Johnson fires strong bullets at the treant, inflicting painful blows. Siren Hilia hurls her trident at the damaged treant as a final strike, dealing fatal damage. Commander Layhunt smiles, feeling satisfied with their strength. The Rose Garden members can only be amazed as they watch the one sided fight.
"Should we even be here?" Cyril questions about it.
"We don't know what lies inside the woods, but from what I heard there are strong creatures lurking inside, so your strength is needed to aid the party." Commander Layhunt gazes at the Rose Garden members as he said that. He expects great powers from them.
A few more steps and they finally reach the entrance to the Cursed Woods. There are colorful mists surrounding the outer skirts. Melisa looks at the unusual herbs, but there seems to be no sign of useful ones.
"Remember, once we go in, there is no turning back, unless we regroup and search for the missing crest. Is everyone ready...?" Knight Sigrun warns the party. The Rose Garden members are mostly sweating, feeling insecure. What if they are all separated individually...? Still, they just hope for the best and brace themselves up for the challenge.
"Bring it on." Rein said that confidently. Melisa, Samael, and Cyril have no objections. The Elite Forces are fine, so as Commander Layhunt. They take one last breath to relieve any negative thoughts.
It is time to enter the Cursed Woods, where new adventures, people, places and quests awaits.
End of Chapter 12