Aeth's driving skills were pretty exceptional to say the least, especially considering it was his first time.
Hmm, this is pretty fun actually, we'll get there in a few minutes at this rate.
They drove down the tiled road, trying not to hit anyone, as they made their way to the Marsh Gate.
Aeth looked over at Eirene, who was surprisingly calm.
"Got any questions about the mission?" He asked.
"Um…. Yes…. Exactly what are we going to do out there"
Well, even though she's calm, she is still a nervous person.
"Well it's quite simple, we're gonna kill as many Greys as we can".
"And…. How much would that be?" She asked, looking nervous.
"Well we're gonna be gone for a couple of days, hmm…. So I'd say around twenty or fifty if we're lucky".
"What?!? Why so many…. If our goal is money…. Then only around ten should do…. Even if they're Ordinary".
Aeth shakes head.
"There are three things wrong with that, the first is that you can never have enough money, Terra can't support us forever, and second, we should be fighting as much as we can, as of right now, we are both weak and insignificant, and we need to protect ourselves".
"And thirdly, you joined a guild, with two powerful Rank X Positions, you need to get on our level and pull your weight".
Well I'm exaggerating my strength, I'm not even close to Terra, strength wise at least, and your ability for tracking is beyond rare.
"Ah…. I see…. I understand now" She says, returning back to her state of calm.
"Good, but don't worry, my situation is special, so I can't fight with my abilities every moment, so we won't be fighting all day".
"Oh…. Ok".
It's like talking to a wall, well anyways, she probably has issues about it, I shouldn't pry.
Aeth then turns down a dirt roading, as he enters into the Marsh District.
He drives down a couple of dirt roads, seeing all the shacks and people that lived in this district.
Hmm, I shouldn't look down on them, it's rude, and I was one not even a week ago.
They arrive at the gate, as Aeth parks the Versan and walks up to the official, as Eirene waits in the car.
"Name, License, Position Ranks, and number of Positions"
Aeth then handed him two ID cards, his and Eirene's, as he talked.
"Aether Torn and Eirene, Both Rank X, and two" He said politely.
Now, the Inner World was mostly male dominant, as it was split seventy-thirty. So men had last names, so as to not get confused, women however did not have last names. Women only have last names if they are currently married. As to why the Inner World worked this way, Aeth had no clue.
The official looked at the ID cards for a few moments, with a solemn look on his face, as he handed them back to Aeth.
"You're free to go," He said in a neutral tone.
"Thank you official," Aeth said politely.
Aeth got back in the car, giving Eirene her ID card back, as the official pulled a lever, opening the gate.
Aeth then put the Versan in neutral, then drove through the opened gate, as he kept going, going deep into the Outer World.
….
Aeth drove for a couple of miles then parking the Versan in the middle of a small, flat valley, which was surrounded by dark, tall rocks.
Seems like a good place to set up camp.
"Eirene, could you use your [Tracker] ability" Aeth asked politely, as to keep her calm.
In truth, Aeth needed to know immediately if they were being followed, or if there were Greys just beyond the rocks that were protecting them for the time being.
"Ok…. Sure". She said shakily.
Eirene then sat down in the back of the Versan, crossing her legs, then drawing a square with a diamond in the middle, in front of her.
As she did, a bright light came from her fingers, drawing the shape she was making in the air, as she recited a chant.
After about ten seconds the shape disappeared, as Eirene sat up from the Versan, with a concerned look on her face.
"There is an Ordinary Grey about two miles west, one three miles east, and one two miles north.
Good, we weren't followed it seems, and there seems to be a good amount of Greys
Atlas, Status
*Of course Aether Torn*
————————-
System: Atlas
Name: Aether Torn
Position: Outcast
Ethereal: [9/20]
Abilities: [Spark] [Windbound] [Six Sense]
Tools: [Small Knife] [ID Card] [Starborn]
[Shadow's Curse]
Rules: [Godless]
————————-
Hmm…. I don't have a lot of Ethereal, maybe…. No, I should kill the Ordinarys first, it should take more than six.
"Good work Eirene, I'm gonna go hunt those, you can set up the camp here".
They had brought a decent amount of supplies on this trip, that means the Versan was full so they couldn't transport the corpses of Grey with all the supplies in the trunk.
"Um…. Ok I'll do that"
"Great"
Aeth then sprinted off towards the Grey in the north, as it was the closest, therefore the most dangerous to the camp.
Aeth summoned [Starborn] and [Shadow's Curse] as he used [Windbound] a bit to speed up his movements, as to get to the Grey in a reasonable time.
As he ran, he noticed the Grey in the distance.
It was dark green, with a skinny body and about the size of Aeth, with two sharp claws, four skimpy legs, small antennas on its forehead, and big red eyes.
It was a Praying Mantis.
Aeth ran towards it, not slowing down but speeding up, as he wanted to get it quickly.
The Mantis noticed him and started charging at him, quite faster then Aeth at that.
As they were about to collide, the Mantis swung at him as Aeth slid under it, stabbing into its underside with [Starborn].
Green liquid spilled from the cut, as the creature screamed a dreadful cry.
Aeth though, was already on his feet, with his blade raised.
The creature screamed and swung at Aeth, with his dark green claw.
But it was too slow.
Aeth had dodged the attack with ease as he sliced the creature's claw off, spilling even more green liquid.
The creature, stupidly, tried again, lunging its other claw at Aeth.
Aeth, who had already felt like he had wasted enough time as is, stabbed the green creature in the chest, the prestige blade cutting like butter through its exoskeleton, making its body go limp, before the claw even hit.
Aeth took the blade out of the Mantis as a voice chimed in his head
*Grey of same Rank killed*
*Ethereal rewarded: 0*
Just as I thought, I don't get any Ethereal for killing Greys my Rank.
Aeth looked down on the Mantis dead corpse, in slight pity, until he remembered what this creature was.
Grey are monsters, evil creatures that deserve death, they have killed millions, so they he to be butchered, like the animals they were.
Aeth wiped the green blood off his blade, took a rope and tied the rope to the Mantis, then started making his way back to camp.
….
It was 8pm, the camp had been finished setting up, as Aeth came back with the Grey from the east.
Aeth had killed the other two Greys with relative ease, as they were only Ordinary, and had brought them back to camp
The first one was the Mantis, whose materials could be made into decent spears or armor.
The second one was a red, slimy creature, with no mouth, ears, legs, arms or eyes to speak of, as all it did was slowly crawl as Aeth, until he put it out of its misery.
The slime it was made of could be used as medicine and a weird type of food.
The third one was a boar, it was brown, with a chunk of its side bitten off, similar to the half faced Rabbit. Aeth had a decent fight with it, having to use [Windbound] once.
It's hide could be used in armor and clothes, its horns could be used in weapons, and it's meat could be sold for a decent amount.
It wasn't bad for the first day, not at all.
"Hey I'm back with the other Grey" Aeth said, laying the boar on the ground, next to the other corpses.
"Oh!…. Great, I'm glad you're ok".
Aeth smiled
Well she's nice, I'm glad she is doing ok out here so far.
Eirene then started a fire, clicking the fire starter together as a flame grew, she then got out a pot, put some water in.
As the water boiled, she put two white packets into the pot.
These were the provisions he had bought, they were pouches that you put into boiling water, then after a few minutes you could eat to your heart's content.
It was great for people like them, who couldn't afford any smells to attract Greys.
Aeth however, was disappointed.
I've been eating Kara's cooking for almost a week, so there's no way this is gonna taste as good as that, not to mention I can't take a bath.
As he was in thought, Eirene took the packets out, then handed it to Aeth.
Surprisingly the packet wasn't hot, it had a small opening to sip from, as to not let the smell out.
Aeth started eating.
Yeah, this isn't great, well, it was still better than synthetic fondant, which I guess isn't saying a lot.
After Aeth had finished eating, he went to bed, as Eirene didn't look like she wanted to talk, and he was too exhausted to chop and sort the corpses.
Aeth then climbed into his tent, which Eirene had set up while he was out, and drifted off to sleep.