Now that Niss had some time and he had broken through to stage three he was confident about how much he had advanced his aura and thought it was about time he tried learning that spell tome he got from Erik Frost, the one that Nyx had recommended back in his treasury.
'So, Nyx why did you want me to choose this spell tome?'
'It is a really good fit for you and your fighting style, also since you plan to rule in the future it is an extremely useful spell for controlling others.'
'Ohhh? Very interesting, although I know you can't really help me with this part.'
'That is right m..... my ability to guide you does not really apply here, spells are something you must understand on your own.
Even if you had learned one of my spells when I granted you some of my mana, you always had that in you. You uncovered a useful spell on your own in a time of need, using my foreign mana, a very impressive talent.'
'Okay well thank you Nyx, you never seem to stop complimenting my potential these past few days.'
'Mhm.'
So, Niss spent the rest of his morning studying the spell tome Nyx had recommended him as much as he could until a knock and a familiar voice came to his door.
"Hey Niss? Are you awake?" Siarra asked.
"Yup! Come on in, I am just reading."
"Okay." She smiled as she came into the room observing Niss sitting in the center of the room focused on his spell tome. "Oh that is the one from Erik, any luck with it yet?"
"Not quite yet, I spent most of last night and this morning on my aura." Niss said.
"Well I just came to tell you, Lys, Curt and I were going to see about taking on a different dungeon, we don't have Trevor so we were going to take on something at low or mid D-rank while we wait for him." She said this with a mix of sadness and determination. "I don't want us to be weak, I don't want to be in these types of situations anymore. Our group should be more like the Blaze Reckoners, strong and fearless but also smart too." She said as she looked deep into Niss's dark purple eyes.
"Siarra, I agree with you completely. Except, we will be stronger than the Blaze Reckoners someday, we are going to be the best strike squad in Aetheria." Niss was oozing confidence and Siarra couldn't help but find herself becoming more and more smitten with him.
"Let's get the other two and go get even stronger while we wait for Trevor's return, he won't be coming back weaker than he was, knowing him I can say that for certain." Niss said.
"Yeah! you're right! Trevor never fails to prove his strength, he is way to stubborn to die." Siarra was bouncing out the door, her spirit and smile returned in full as she ran off to grab the others.
'What a handful this group is, although judging by how Thad runs his group I suppose the most talented people are also the most weird and eccentric people.'
'True.'
'Okay so you just constantly read my thoughts now?'
'Maybe.'
The four of them had gathered in front of the dungeon board. They were looking for something to the east or much farther south to avoid having to deal with being close to the pale orc situation.
....
As the group embarked on their journey south, the air gradually shifted from the bitter cold they left behind to a much more fair temperature. The light layer of snow gave way to muddy roads and a warm breeze. The landscape transformed from snow-covered hills and mountains to valleys with vibrant hues of green as they got closer to the heart of the continent.
After traveling for a few days they finally saw their first signs of wide open farmlands. The elevation of Nothern Landia, Regalia and Rivenwood was much higher than this area, even though they had only traveled a few days south of the capital it was all down hill travel as they came from the mountains down to the valleys of Hearthheart.
Hearthheart was the region directly south of the capital region Regalia. It was one of the four southern regions on the continent and it was fairly well off as it had a plethora of farmland.
The scent in the air had shifted from the crisp freshness of snow to the earthy smell of mud and now too plowed fields and fresh manure. Farmers toiled in the distance, their figures blurred by the rising heat waves. The road that was once frosted and secluded was now firm dirt that had been packed by the passage of many wagons. The world seemed to open up in front of them to a landscape painted in shades of green and brown.
It was spring at the moment and therefore planting season in this region. The group saw many farmers out in force, using oxen to pull their plows as they planted their crops.
The dungeon the group decided to take on was called Gragfall Castle. It was fortress from an ancient war that had long since been abandoned, it was however the center of powerful mana that gave birth to the C-rank dungeon.
The group had planned on taking on a D-rank dungeon since they did not have Trevor along with them this time. Since Niss had been promoted to C-rank before the group left even though the others were still D-rank he was able to bring them due to the rules of the guild. This dungeon had a recommended size of three so they also fulfilled the requirements. As far as C-rank dungeons go it was a much easier one compared to others of its rank, making it the perfect target for our group to obtain faster growth.
"Well, it looks like were pretty close now huh?" Niss said to the others as he pointed off in the horizon at the ancient stone fortress that was covered in moss and decay, although still standing proud and strong, a testament to the fact that it was indeed a fortress built in the era of the ancient wars.
"I'm excited! And you finally can show off your new spell tome that we have been dying to see ever since you finally learned that spell tome on our journey over here!" Siarra responded as she drifted over to Niss and grabbed his arm with a warm smile.
Lys had a slight frown but ended up rolling her eyes as she joined in on the other side of Niss grabbing his arm and standing to look at the fortress in the distance.
"We will all be getting C-rank by the time we finish this! I can't wait, your tips and tricks have been invaluable on this trip Niss." Lys said, ditching her usual cold tone to muster up the most appreciative and kind one she could.
Curt just gazed on at the three of them, 'Why am I here again?' he thought.
.....
A/N: Hey if you guys could leave some comments, reviews, power stones, anything to show me you are still here and wanting more that would really help me out!