Under the shadows cast by the tall walls at the entrance of the city Moribus, five figures formed a circle.
"So ehh... Miss Alicia suggested a beginner-friendly mission and that's what we'll be doing," Gallagher voiced out. "Cute little Ruth here will do the explaining... She's the most knowledgeable here, and she's also the youngest of the party. You guys should get along!"
Gallagher placed his hand on Ruth's shoulder, bringing her closer to him.
"Ruth... Please tell us about our mission."
Ruth was flustered for a while before saying, "E-eh. Nice to meet you."
Arwan watched and subconsciously thought, 'I find her a little cute, but Alicia is way better. Ahhh, I guess other races are really built different.'
Meanwhile, Femi was getting impatient and inwardly yelling, 'I was really excited for this but now everything seems to be moving slowly!'
"A-ah, sorry.... I'll start now."
Ruth's low voice once again brought everyone's attention. After inhaling and exhaling, she then said in a higher voice:
"A pack of camo coyotes migrated closer to the city. Because of their camouflage traits, if not careful they might interfere with adventurers' mid-missions. The mission is to get rid of them before any accidents happen. They are Phase 2 evolved creatures, Beasts."
Two holographic screens appeared from her wrist comm. One was a map of the surrounding regions around the city, and the other was a 3D hologram of a canine.
"That's the camo coyote?" Femi asked, pointing at the 3D hologram.
"Yes. Eh, and they're called coyotes..." Ruth corrected.
"Hmm, she's a wise type of lady. Makes her more attractive," while stroking his chin, Arwan's thoughts slipped out of his mouth.
"E-eh, t-thank you. I'm not really good in combat, so I use my knowledge to make up for that," Ruth lost control of her calm and became more flustered than before.
Arwan just realized that she heard him after her reaction, and he also felt awkward.
The scene made both Femi and Gallagher laugh in amusement. Eva, on the other hand, snapped.
"Tch! We don't have all day! Are we done here?"
Everyone became silent for a while, well, except for Gallagher. He laughed a little longer than Femi. Femi also had a lot to let out, but he had already begun to be wary of Eva. She was just too… hot-headed and fearful, maybe?.
'She's a wild one. I think this is the kind people fear,' Femi commented inwardly.
After regaining composure, Gallagher looked around and said, "Ahhh, we've worked with a lot of younglings, but you guys are definitely the most entertaining."
He then pointed at Femi.
"You remind me of my young days. Energetic and curious." he complimented. "So do you guys have any questions?"
"Huhh... I get most of the idea... We can discuss the battle plan after we get to know each other's fighting style," Arwan suggested.
"Hehh, what and where are the vital organs of the coyotes?" This was a question Femi had been meaning to ask since he saw the hologram.
His swordsmanship needed such information. He was already familiar with every humanoid's vitals, evolved creatures, on the other hand, their vitals were hard to discern by looks. One of the most common traits of evolution.
"T-the vital points are—"
"Argh! We'll add that to when we formulate the battle plan. Let's go! I'm tired of standing here," Eva's loud voice interrupted Ruth.
'Yep. I guessed right. She's rash!' Femi acknowledged, not daring to say it out loud.
"Okay then. We'll head to the warehouse where our equipment is kept, the ones we'll also be giving you are there. I'll send the coordinates to you. Our ride is packed inside, near the gate. We'll catch up." Gallagher said.
"Alright."
Arwan approached Gallagher, then Gallagher transferred a holographic map to Arwan.
The duo left Gallagher and the others, walked to the bike, and got on.
"Byeee."
From under the blue and white mask, Femi yelled.
Gallagher waved at them, then murmured to himself:
"Indeed, an interesting duo combination."
*****
As they entered the city, Femi once again looked around.
Femi's eyes were always pleased by the view.
Looking up, Femi saw the blue dome that extended all over the city. Moving in the skies were drones that were used by law enforcers to monitor the roads of Moribus.
This was a city packed with adventurers, galactic wanderers, etcetera; To maintain peace on the streets, the law enforcers were always monitoring everywhere.
As Arwan drove through the streets, Femi glanced around to occupy himself.
The buildings here were all cuboid shapes. Some also had glowing sign boards.
Most of the people here were also armed, so seeing different weapons and envisioning himself fighting with them was also a fun way to keep himself busy.
"How long till we reach?" Femi's voice muzzled from under his mask.
Checking the time approximation on his map, Arwan replied, "At this speed, about six minutes."
"Alright."
Femi was someone who got bored fast. Having toured the town earlier, he had done sightseeing already, along with the buildings he saw on Mars, he wasn't really that impressed again.
*****
Five minutes later, Femi and Arwan alighted in front of a huge building.
The building in front of them was also cuboid in shape, but its width and length span were longer than anything they'd seen so far.
Occupying a lot of land space, the building with a blue glowing sign board that said, "Zephyr's Warehouse" stood.
'Right when I thought I'd seen enough,' Femi smiled as he walked closer to the building. 'It's not the best warehouse in the city for nothing.'
He had heard about the warehouse when he first toured the city, but he didn't think too much about it.
Femi wouldn't have imagined a warehouse—where people stored things—would have anything impressive to serve.
"Andro, wait for Mr. Gallagher and the others to reach here before you enter," Parking the bike properly, Arwan snapped out of his reverie.
Ever since Femi 'disgraced' Arwan in front of Alicia, Arwan had been calling him "Andro," short for androgynous, to rile him up.
'This petty bastard!' Femi exclaimed inwardly, but ultimately he didn't really care. "Hehe, that won't work–"
"Ahhh, sorry for keeping you guys waiting," cutting Femi off was Gallagher's deep voice.
"We just got here. It's no problem," Arwan said as he approached the incoming party.
The warehouse had a parking area in front of it; that's where they were currently.
"Ugh. Do you guys want to make unnecessary talk again? Move it already!" Eva, who drove the car and parked it, snapped at the four of them.
"Yeah! Let's go in, guys!!" Femi rushed everyone in.
Assuming he was just scared of Eva's wrath, they were all unaware of Femi's true thoughts.
'Something attractive is here..,' Femi thought as he listened to his hunch's whispers which riled up his feelings of anticipation.
"Now that's good," Eva acknowledged.
With everyone now ready, they all walked into the warehouse.
Walking into the door of Zephyr's Warehouse, the receptionist counter at the opposite side of the room was the first thing they met.
At the counter were two individuals: an alien race man and a human lady.
Femi would have walked to the counter as fast as possible and asked the man weird questions, but slightly glancing at Eva who was behind him, he knew better than to do that.
The male receptionist's eyes shot up as he saw a familiar face.
"Gallagher, welcome welcome, new members of the party?"
"Heh heh, just some kids I'm teaching the hang of things. I never say no to helping hands," Gallagher said. "We can head straight to the back, right?"
"Of course," the receptionist responded.
With the end of the short exchange, the group went towards a door that was adjacent to the reception counter.
Behind the door was a long corridor.
As Gallagher, who was obviously familiar with this place, navigated them through the corridors, they were greeted by lots of workers who knew the trio.
"You're really popular," Femi said.
Gallagher turned his head back, gave a smile to Femi, and replied, "I valued connection when I first became an adventurer. It's part of what put me where I am.
"That's why Alicia suggested we guide you, haha, through us you can get more information than normal unaffiliates. Connection and information beats almost everything in this industry. Trust us and we'll refer you to some of our connections."
"Ahhh! Mr. Gallagher is so cool. Thank you!" Femi said.
"Hahahah, it's nothing impressive really," Gallagher might have said that, but Femi saw the proud smile he had.
"Tch!" Eva hissed. "Can you guys move faster? You're slowing us down."
"Oh, is someone jealous she didn't get a compliment from the kid?" Gallagher teased.
Eva didn't talk, her glare only passed Femi's shoulders and pierced towards Gallagher turning them quiet.
The rest of the walk was quiet, except for some slight murmurs between Arwan and Ruth; the former was asking questions, leaving the latter to answer them.
Following a few minutes of walking through the large warehouse, they arrived at their storage room.
Gallagher entered the passwords required to open the door, then turned to the duo, "So what weapons do you guys use? Tell me so I'll get something that matches it. You'll have to wait her—"
"OHHHH! Arwan! Get
in here you must see this!" Femi's yell interrupted Gallagher.
"Excuse me," Arwan's interest overwhelmed and forgot his basic courtesy. Following Femi's footsteps, he entered the storage room.
"Hey! You don't just enter someone else's place like that!" Eva's rage-filled voice echoed as she also entered the storage room.
'Maybe I shouldn't have brought them here. Well, they're still newbies, they don't know much…'
Having an odd feeling grow within him, Gallagher sighed and gestured to Ruth to enter.