[Task Complete!]
[Would Host Like To Receive Task Rewards?]
'Oh, the Task is done. But, I'd like to receive it later.' Liora thought inwardly, and the system chimed before disappearing.
"The hostages!" Liora suddenly recalled and shouted in urgency, breaking a sprint and running towards the goblin fort. The ground was littered with the corpses of goblins, and many goblin settlements were destroyed, with only a few barely standing from the explosion.
Liora began to check inside the huts of the goblins, in the first hut were the valuables of the merchant that the goblins had robbed, but she didn't care much about that and checked the next huts.
After a few minutes of checking, she had finally found the hostages. There inside the hut, were the merchant, two boys and two girls, within the age range of 16-18.
The hostages were tied up tightly in ropes to prevent them from escaping, a cloth was stuffed inside their mouth, multiple scars and bruises were visible on their bodies, except that of the merchants.
Liora further noted the way the boys and girls were dressed, they were dressed in light armor, a symbol of their guild visible on their chestplates, these people were most likely adventurers.
'That explains why the goblins had such good weaponry, they must've looted these guys.' Liora thought inwardly.
"Mark! I found the hostages, we need to get them out immediately." Liora called.
Mark's ears perked as he heard her call and he quickly arrived there, upon seeing that there were more than one hostage made Mark blink in suprise.
'How did she know that were multiple hostages? We only saw the merchant getting kidnapped. She even mentioned the goblins having great intelligence,' Mark thought while looking at Liora suspiciously.
Mark sighed, deciding not to dwell on it too much. "Untie them." Mark said as he walked up to the boys and began to break their ropes with his bare hands.
Liora nodded and walked up to the girls, beginning to untie them. Once the adventurers were free, they felt a deep sense of gratitude as they were saved.
One of the female adventurers stepped up to Liora and Mark, she bowed down to show her respect.
"Thank you for saving our lives, for this act we are forever grateful." The girl said in a respective voice.
"Don't worry about it, we're just doing our job." Mark replied simply.
The merchant walked up to them, bowing respectfully before speaking "Allow me to escort you all back to the Royal Capital through my carriage, since we are all headed there." The merchant said.
"That would be great." Liora said.
The adventurers then began to grab their weapons that were taken by the goblins, the merchant grabbed his things, and everyone was now ready to leave.
They soon exited the forest and entered the carriage, the merchant sat at the front, while Liora, Mark, and the rest of the adventurers sat at the back.
As the carriage began making it's way towards the Royal Capital, the adventurers introduced themselves and started to explain the situation to them.
They were a recently formed F-Ranked party that had just moved into the Royal Capital a few days ago, upon hearing about a E-Rank quest from the guild, and the good reward behind it, the group accepted the quest and felt confident that they would be able to handle it.
But they underestimated the intelligence the goblins held and were quickly ambushed by them, they brutally attacked them and tied them up, while taking their weapons. They were shocked to learn that the goblins could speak, and already had a small village inside the forest.
The goblins planned on gathering alot of humans for a feast, which they would then proceed to kill the men and eat them. And soon after doing that they would use the women for their reproduction purposes.
Liora listened to the story the adventurers told her, and she felt more and more relieved that they had managed to save the adventurers, before the goblins could do anything serious to them.
Mark found the story the adventurers told very interesting, and decided that he would have to inform the guild master about their discovery. Mark advised the adventurers to train harder, so that this never happens again.
After a while of waiting, they had finally reached the Royal Capital's gates. Mark and the other adventurers jumped off the carriage, Liora was about to jump off as well, but Mark decided to stop her:
"You should head back home now and go rest. I'll report everything that happened to the guild, and get these guys proper treatment." Mark said
Liora wanted to say something, but sighed as she decided not to, she was starting to get tired and silently agreed, nodding her head to him.
Mark walked to the front of the carriage and towards the merchant, "Take her back to the Rohart mansion for me." Mark told the merchant, and the merchant nodded before riding away.
Mark stared at the carriage leaving for a few seconds, particularly at Liora with a still suspicious gaze, determined to uncover whatever secrets she was hiding. He then turned back to the other adventurers and said to them:
"Alright guys, let's head over to the guild and get you treated."
The adventurers agreed and Mark started to escort them towards the guild, while engaging in small talk with them.
–-----
The sprawling Rohart mansion loomed in front of Liora as she stepped through the gates, its towering spires outlined against the darkening evening sky.
The quiet ambiance of the mansion grounds, with its carefully tended gardens and cobblestone pathways, brought a fleeting sense of peace to Liora's weary mind.
Inside, she was greeted by one of the maids, who bowed deeply.
"Welcome back, Miss Liora," the maid said softly, her eyes widening slightly at Liora's disheveled appearance. "Shall I prepare a bath and a meal for you?"
Liora paused, considering. She was exhausted from the day's events, her muscles aching from the battle and her mind clouded with lingering thoughts about Mark's suspicious gaze. Finally, she nodded.
"Yes, thank you. Make it quick."
The maid scurried off, and Liora began walking back towards her room. Each step felt heavier than the last as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, leaving only fatigue in its place.
Reaching her room, Liora shut the door behind her and leaned against it, releasing a long sigh. Her thoughts drifted to the events of the day—the ambush on the goblin fort, the discovery of the hostages, and Mark's silent scrutiny.
The thought nagged at her. Goblins were typically disorganized, relying on numbers rather than tactics. Yet, this group had coordinated ambushes, spoken among themselves, and even created a crude settlement. It wasn't just unusual—it was alarming.
A soft knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.
"Miss Liora, your bath is ready," the maid called.
"Thank you. I'll be right there," she replied.
–----
The warm water enveloped her as she sank into the tub, soothing her tired body. Liora closed her eyes, letting the heat seep into her muscles. The events of the day replayed in her mind.
After a long bath, Liora stepped out of the bathroom. She wrapped a towel around herself, and began to walk back towards her room. As she entered her room, she quickly got dressed into a comfortable nightgown and jumped onto the bed.
'Oh..the Task rewards.' Liora suddenly remembered, 'System, I'd like to receive my rewards now.'
[Granting Host Task Rewards..]
[Liora Has Received +1 Unique Item, +1 Grand Beast Master Skill, +1000 Beast Points(x10), +100 Stat Points(x10)]
[Unique Item Acquired: Fox Mask]
[Description: A cute mask adorned with mystical patterns, while the mask is worn, the user's four senses are heavily heightened and the sounds of the user will also be heavily reduced.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Beast Domain]
[Description: A magical space within the mind where the user's Elite Pet's will be stored, the space is capable of restoring the health of all Elite Pets, which requires magic. This Skill can't be upgraded.]
Liora blinked in surprise of the rewards she had gotten, particularly the [Beast Domain] Skill and the unique Fox Mask.
'These are really good. The Fox Mask could be useful for sneaking around, and the [Beast Domain] Skill would be perfect to store my Elite Pets, and hide them if necessary.'
Liora looked at the Fox Mask that was now in her hand, and decided to try it on. She put on the Mask, but didn't really feel any different for a few seconds. Then, her ears perked as she picked up the sounds of the maids moving around and their distant chattering.
Her hearing while wearing the mask was absolutely amazing, she could also smell the flowers that were in the garden, it wasn't very strong, but it was still noticeable.
After experimenting with the Mask, she decided it was now time to try out her [Beast Domain] Skill.
'Alright..let's do this.'