A month has passed since Fumiko became Lord of Welcia and Ikrel. Still, many more people are falling under Ifrit's control, and it's hard to anticipate who will fall next. Fumiko got rid of all the old guards and hired a few demi-human guards who weren't affected by Ifrit's mind control.
I went with Fumiko and Alma to train. We have been doing this for a month, and we need to get stronger now. Our classmates are catching up with us, and we can't allow that. We must be stronger than them. I must be stronger. I must protect the people that I care about here. If we are weaker than any of them, then we might not make it. I am more worried about our classmates who are under Goddess Ifrit's control than anything.
Life on earth wasn't pretty for me, but here, finally, it was something new, something that was worth it for me. I think, at least, I must not allow myself to slip up or do anything of the sort ever again. I believe that killing myself in my original world was the best decision that I could make and the worst decision at the same time. On the one hand, I live a life that I want to live, at least part of it. It's hard, but I do get by; on the other hand, well, the fact that we are hunted and considered a threat to this whole world by some stupid Goddess; she brainwashed everyone we knew and cared about, half of them want us to be free, and the other half listen to the Goddess and what she has to say about us. It's frustrating to have this thought at the back of your mind. But in the end, we can undo this curse.
"What are you thinking about Hikaru?"- Fumiko looked up at me
"Nothing, just random thoughts. Anyway, today we will do some basic training. Alma, can you swing a sword?"- I turned towards Alma.
*Use skill: Predator*- I made a training sword for Alma using the Predator skill, a short sword made out of wood
"Ok, now, Alma, you are going to fight either me or Hana; you choose; the other one who is not chosen will fight Fumiko."- Fumiko and Alma nodded in agreement. I gave Fumiko another training sword, and we began to battle.
Skipping the details of the battle, the 2 of them had a bit of skill, especially Fumiko, since we had trained her before. Alma has a lot of wrong movements, but she should last against your run-of-the-mill bandit pretty well; she will be at a disadvantage if there is a group attack or anything that would take her by surprise. She has a lot to work on
"Ok, that's enough for the 2 of you"- Hana clapped her hands, and both Fumiko and Alma stopped; the two girls were exhausted from this training.
"I think it's enough for today Hikaru"- Alma commented.
"Yes, I think so too"- I helped them get up and put them to rest on a bed.
We can train for long periods. Fumiko and Alma have duties regarding the management of the land that she has in possession, and she can't slack off even a minute. She used up half of her break time to train with us. I bet there is a mountain of paperwork waiting for her inside. Maybe we can do something about it.
"Hana, let's go to the guild and see what missions we can pick up. We need to get stronger, at least close to evolving once more, or if we are lucky, evolve this month. It's too dire a situation to neglect to gain exp gain." I looked at Hana; she was exhausted as well. I don't know what to do now; I don't want to overexert her.
"It's okay, Hikaru. Don't worry about me. I will recover while I walk. The same goes for you as well. Our bodies are no longer human, so I guess we can push them over the limit." Hana winked and then gave me a small nod.
The two of us set on to the Welcia Adventurer's Guild. There, we met another receptionist, a tall lady with black hair. Strange, I swear there was a man the last time.
"So you two are the adventurers my sister told me about?" I know this feeling. Is this telepathy?
"Yes, it is. Talk nothing about my sister or me being a Fenrir. The former receptionist chose to take a break, and I took their place now." - The woman didn't move her lips to speak; she continued to stare at us.
"Can we get a bunch of quests that involve killing monsters, please?"-This time, I spoke aloud.
"Sure, your rank?"
"F, you can find us in the registry"- We gave her the registry data, and shortly after, she found us there.
"At this rank, I can only give you wolf-hunting quests and other low-level monsters. But there are six special quests that anyone can take on, but a fair warning, the monsters that you will meet there are harder to kill but give you a ton of exp"- She pointed to a board, a more polished one; it sits next to the old and rusty metal quest board.
We took a closer look at the quests, and they seem easy. Plus, the area is full of high-level monsters, and as high as level 10 can get half our level.
"We will take all 6."
"Are you sure you two kids can do those quests? They are pretty hard. I am a rank D, and I can't complete even 1. You two are ranked F. I suggest not clearing the quest if you want to live. " A man with a calm voice spoke up once he heard us.
!That man is a mere level 9; you are above that 2 times, and you will be fine!- Sia reassured us.
"Thanks for the advice, but I have a strategy and a useful skill",- I thanked the man while wanting to appear mysterious and confident.
"I warned you two, but I hope you two return safely." He smiled at us as we left the guild building. I now realise that there were many more people around us.
Well, the quests are as follows.
The 1st one is to defeat an Alpha Magi wolf; the 2nd one is to defeat Magi Wolves 30 of them; the 3rd quest tasked us with defeating a Tree Guardian; the 4th quest wants us to kill giant insects and collect their wings to show as proof the 5th quest tells us to kill a Minotaur, a level 12 beast that is found deep in the forest and the 6th quest, I think this one is the hardest, capture a bandit gang that hides in the nearby mountains, the gang is named The Plundering. An otherworlder leads it with a unique skill named Plunderer, a skill that can steal skills from the people that they touch. All of these quests offer 5 points towards progression to the next rank, rank E.
"Hikaru, the last one. It's Ayame's gang, or I think it is. Didn't she mention something akin to that to you?."- Hana looked at the quests once again.
"Well, I think it's time for Ayame to join us then. I can't wait to have an ally like her by our side. But first, let's deal with all of those quests first."
"Ok, I understand." Hana seems happy to have Ayame around as well. I am more concerned about the quests that involve monster killing. My concern isn't that we won't be able to face the monsters; my concern is that we won't be able to find the monsters in the first place.
"Well, let's get back and make a plan for where we will hunt the monsters, rest, and then leave at nightfall," Hana suggested. It's the best course of action in a situation like the one we are in.