Following his tit-for-tat exchange with the Guildmaster, Will returned to the first-floor tavern area and made his way over to the postings board restricted to B-Rank Adventurers and higher. He had more than enough funds to facilitate traveling directly to Deisceart's Capital, Namsyrh, but with the city currently under lockdown, the least inconspicuous course of action was to accept escort missions that took him progressively further south.
'Unsurprisingly, there aren't a lot of convoys headed south...' noted Will, scanning the various flyers pinned to the oversized corkboard. Due to the scarcity of B-Rank Adventurers, there were well over a hundred flyers on display, but the vast majority were material requests.
"You B-Rank...?" asked a gruff, gravelly voice, prompting Will to turn and meet the gaze of a tall, athletic man with short and spiky red hair, yellow eyes, and a body covered in various scars and tattoos. Both his fists and forearms were wrapped tightly in bandages, and above his sharp eyes sat a red bandana, over which was a leather headband and a regional form of goggles formed from bone with tiny slits for eyeholes.
"Why? Is your party looking for members...?" asked Will, raising his right brow.
"Nn..." responded the man, nodding curtly. Then, thumbing over his shoulder with his right hand, he stated, "We have a table. Come. Our leader will explain things."
"Maybe in a bit," said Will, returning his attention to the corkboard, much to the redhead's chagrin. Will could sense the man's Mana and Aura surge as his temper flared, but instead of attacking or trying to convince him, he turned away and returned to his group.
'No matter the world, there are always people looking for an easy mark...' mused Will, almost certain the redhead and his party wanted to take him somewhere remote to rob and possibly kill him. He was half-tempted to humor them, sparing others from a similar fate, but if someone were dumb enough to join a completely random group without vetting them, that was kind of on them.
"Pardon me," said a faint but masculine tone, prompting Will to turn and react as if he didn't sense the person approaching. This time, rather than a taciturn redhead, he found himself looking down slightly as the person who approached was a short, thin, and agile-looking boy with pale white hair fixed in a short ponytail. His complexion was almost ghastly pale, but his most prominent features were his amber, cat-like eyes, the blue-grey cat ears protruding from the top of his head, and the dark, muted blue cat tail swaying behind him. As for his attire, he was topless, modeled baggy, sky-blue desert trousers, a white sash, a black swordbelt supporting two thin, curved swords, and bandages around his otherwise bare feet.
Adopting a beguiling, cat-like smile, the boy placed his right hand on his chest and said, "Sorry for interrupting you so shortly after you refused my companion, but I thought you might be more amenable to our invitation if I came over to greet and appeal to you directly..."
"Go for it," said Will, curious to hear what the articulate, soft-spoken cat boy had to say.
Nodding, the cat boy explained, "My name is Aelius, Captain of the B-Rank Party, Silver Cat. My colleagues and I are preparing to head south to sell our services to the highest bidder."
Looking Will up and down, Aelius crossed his arms and added, "Seeing how you look, dress, and act like a foreigner, I assume you came here for a similar reason?"
"Let's just say I'm not wholly opposed to the idea..." replied Will, turning around, matching Aelius's posture as he questioned, "But what do I stand to gain from joining you? I wouldn't have come all this way alone if I were looking to take orders from strangers."
Waving his hand in front of his face, Aelius assured, "No worries there. We may call ourselves a party, but we're ultimately a group of individuals who work together toward a common goal. You'll come to find that's how most parties in Deisceart operate."
'I'm sure they do...' thought Will, outwardly adopting a smile as he replied, "Fine. I'll at least meet your team. If they seem like a reasonable bunch, I wouldn't mind accompanying you. At least for a short while."
"Excellent~!" exclaimed Aelius, his cat-like tail flicking behind him as he smiled and pumped his fists. He seemed genuinely excited, but whether that was because he was happy to have another ally or enthused that he had found a mark remained to be seen...
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Following Aelius, Will ended up at a booth with three others present. The shirtless redhead from before was standing outside it with crossed arms. As for the remaining two, the first was a roguish-looking man with bronze skin, earth-brown hair, and dark green eyes. Unlike the majority of people present, he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pale brown vest, dark brown trousers, knee-high trekking boots, and a sword belt fixed with two daggers and a shortsword.
"Oh? You look even younger up close..." said the man, flashing the kind of smile that could compel women to open their coin purses to purchase him drinks.
"Are you really a B-Rank Adventurer...?" asked the final member of the group, a fair-skinned girl with faded golden eyes, Elf-like ears, and curly, muted blonde hair fixed into a messy ponytail and loosely braided pigtails. She was also dressed rather conservatively, sporting a long-sleeved, off-white silk shirt, a tan vest with multiple pockets, somewhat tattered grey-green trousers, and a brown desert scarf with white stripes. However, as she was even paler than Aelius, it wasn't surprising that she would choose to cover up.
"If you have doubts, I could always leave," replied Will, wearing his usual confident and slightly cheeky smile.
"Now, now, let's all try to get along," said Aelius, acting as an intermediary by gesturing to each of his companions in turn, starting with the redhead as he introduced, "This Kris. He serves as our forward and specializes in mid-range and hand-to-hand combat. Next, we have this dapper-looking gentleman, Angil. If his sun-touched complexion didn't make it clear, he's a native who's well-acquainted with Deisceart's most profitable Resource Areas and Dungeons."
"Hey there," said Angil, raising his right hand, garbed in fingerless brown gloves, and giving a curt, two-finger salute.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Will shifted his attention to the final member of the group as Aelius attempted to say, "Last but not least is our resident medic and archeologist, Ally-"
"Allyson Briar," interrupted the half-elf girl, narrowing her eyes slightly as she asked, "And you are...?"
"Aiden Ward," replied Will, pulling out his Guild Token and casually tossing it onto the table for everyone in the group to see.
Picking up the silvery token and inspecting it, Allyson's expression relaxed somewhat as she admitted, "It certainly looks real..."
Raising her gaze to meet Will's, Allyson's eyes glowed under the influence of her Mana and suspicions as she questioned, "But if you're truly B-Rank, why are your Mana and Aura so...lacking?"
"Have you ever heard the saying, quality over quantity?" countered Will, crossing his arms as he added, "My Mana and Aura might be lacking, but it doesn't matter how much a person has if they can't use it effectively..."
"So you say...but humans and hubris are almost synonymous..." retorted Allyson, placing Will's Token on the table and sliding it back to him with an expression that made it clear she wasn't convinced.
'This girl is good at pushing people's buttons...' mused Will, the corners of his smile curling upward as he picked up and pocketed his Token. Then, as he was now fairly certain the group wasn't attempting to lure him into a trap, he proposed, "If you're unconvinced, how about a wager? If you win, I'll announce to everyone here that I'm a talentless loser. If I win..."
As he hadn't yet thought of what he would ask for if he won, Will allowed his words to trail off meaningfully. Unsurprisingly, a disgusted expression developed across Allyson's face. Instead of backing down, however, she responded, "Fine. But I chose the format, and we follow local rules. That means if you get caught trying to cheat, I'll be taking at least two of your fingers..."
'That's what she said...' Will mused internally, resisting the urge to exhale a chuckle. At the same time, he nodded in affirmation, appearing calm and confident as he asked, "Have anything in mind?"
Seeing how relaxed Will was, a faint trembling began to emanate from the pit of Allyson's stomach. She usually wasn't this confrontational, but since Will seemed like a young boy who severely overestimated himself, she felt obligated to teach him a lesson before he ended up in an unmarked grave, another of Deisceart's many victims.
"Mind if I make a suggestion?" asked Aelius, feeling it was his duty to step in before things got too out of hand.
Without waiting for a response, Aelius suggested, "Given your appearance and equipment, it's safe to assume you're a Warrior, right? That being the case, how about we settle things with a test of strength? Beat all three of us in a bout of arm wrestling, and we'll call it your win. Lose to more than one of us, and we'll settle things with a round of drinks and a good laugh."
"I object," said Allyson, crossing her arms as she appended, "I'm fine with arm wrestling. But, knowing you, you'll probably throw your match and try to sweep things under the rug..."
"Would that not be the preferred outcome...?" asked Aelius, his usually friendly smile cramping. He knew Allyson could be hardheaded, but he hoped she would come to her senses and compromise while there was still room to do so.
"I'll go first," said Allyson, rolling up her right sleeve before setting her elbow on the table, hand at the ready. Her Mana and Aura were at least five times as dense as Will's, so she was confident she could win despite not being proficient at close-quarters combat.
"Haiz..."
Realizing Allyson wasn't going to stand down, Aelius exhaled a sigh and draped his right hand down his face in exasperation. Unfortunately, Will reacted by grabbing her hand and getting into position, smiling as he put a fraction of his full strength into his grip.
"You're not scaring anyone..." said Allyson, channeling her Mana and Aura throughout her body and into her arm, using her Wood and Earth Affinities to amplify her arm and grip strength by more than ten times. She could go even further, but since Will seemed intent on challenging her with nothing but his unaugmented strength, she decided to spare herself the agonizing pain that came from pushing muscles far beyond their natural limits.
"Do you need a count...?" asked Will.
"Let's just get this over with..." growled Allyson, tensing the muscles in her hand, arm, and body. In response, Will motioned as if he were about to try and slam the back of her hand against the table. Allyson reacted instantly, like a sprung trap, but other than causing the table to shake, she failed to get Will's hand to budge more than a few millimeters.
'What in Andora? How is he so strong...!?' Allyson screamed internally, the upper half of her face reddening from exertion as she clenched her teeth and made several attempts to budge Will's hand. She even pulled it a little to her side to try and build up momentum, but Will would immediately lock his arm the moment it returned to its initial position.
Though he was tempted to ask if they had begun, Will remained silent, his smile fading into a neutral, focused expression as Allyson, refusing to give up, gradually increased the amount of Mana and Aura she was employing to strengthen her body. It would take her going all out in a single burst to have a chance, but it was better to be prepared than not.
CRACK
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