Laying in his uncomfortably small tent, which consisted of a small sleeping bag and a small pillow.
Aeth rolled a round, trying to find a comfortable position as he moaned from the pains of his sores.
Aeth was very sore from the fight, not to mention he had some broken ribs. The medicine he had taken was working wonders though, drowning the pain and helping his body heal, but it did make him a bit drowsy.
He didn't want to sleep though, as it was only mid day and he wasn't one to take naps, no matter how tired he got.
He was too tired and drowsy to walk or process the corpses. So he decided to leave that work to Eirene, as it wasn't too hard of a task, while he talked to Atlas.
Atlas, status please.
*Of course Aether Torn*
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System: Atlas
Name: Aether Torn
Position: Outcast
Ethereal: [15/20]
Abilities: [Spark] [Windbound] [Six Sense]
Tools: [Small Knife] [ID Card] [Starborn]
[Shadow's Curse]
Rules: [Godless]
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Hmm…. Fifteen Ethereal to ask questions, I'll only try to spend no more than ten though in case I need to use my abilities.
But what do I even ask? Maybe how I can complete my Task quicker? Or how is my progress on my meditation Skill is going? Hmm.
Aeth really couldn't decide as both questions held equal importance to him. His meditation Skill would help him gain more Ethereal, allowing him to ask more questions. While completing his Task would allow him to ask more important questions and gain new Abilities.
Ultimately, it came down to quality vs quantity.
Still both questions were important, so Aeth asked a different one. Instead of choosing himself, he would let Atlas decide.
Atlas, for Aeth at this moment, is completing his Task or Skill more important.
*Answer, at this moment it'd be wiser to work on one's Task, as one can work on one's Skill progress at any point*
*Removing four Ethereal*
*Remaining, 11/20*
Hmm…. This is a good point, I hadn't thought about it this way, well I guess I'll have to ask how to complete my Task the quickest.
Then again, that'll leave me with not a lot of Ethereal left, hmm….
The cost of questions from Atlas depends on the amount of value Aeth puts on it, even if the question is a simple one, so he couldn't simply ask his date of death, or when someone would try and attack him, as these questions costed more Ethereal then he could hold, furthermore, this Rank was too low for those types questions.
Taking the fact he couldn't do anything with his injuries or drowsiness, it didn't really matter if he had Ethereal or not.
So Aeth decided to ask.
Atlas, what would be the best way for Aeth to complete his Task.
*Answer, With Aeth's current attack power and abilities, it would be wise to hunt as many Ordinary Ranks as possible, possibly one big horde*
*Removing eight Ethereal*
*Remaining, 3/20*
I see, I guess this makes sense, Abnormal Ranks do take about five times the risk and effort, for only two times the reward, it seems that this would be the more effective method, only issue is that there aren't many Greys to begin with.
Atlas also did not take into account Eirene, which could lower the difficulty and risk, also quickening the process.
Aeth closed his eyes and thought through it some more.
No it wouldn't have mattered, she's still inexperienced and scared of Greys, she'd slow the process down as much as she sped it up.
Aeth had rested for a couple of hours now, thinking his plans over and over, trying to come up with something decent, but in the end, he went with Atlas's advice.
His ribs were almost as good as new, as the medicine he took did wonders on the body, healing bones by a hundred times as fast, and the drowsiness from the medicine had gone away.
Aeth got from his tent, looking around he saw that the corpses of the Greys had been chopped and sorted, very neatly at that, as they laid on the ground in the corner of the camp.
He saw Eirene sitting by the fire, staring at it intensely, as if the flames dancing was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.
Aeth walked over and sat next to her, basting in the beauty of the fire and the lifelessness of the grey sky above.
"How are you holding up?" He asked, noticing she didn't seem ok.
"Ok…. I'm doing ok…. That Abnormal really got to me though"
"That's perfectly normal, I'd be surprised if it didn't, but hey, at least everything easier will look smaller as a result* Aeth said, trying to cheer her up.
"Yeah…. I guess so"
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Say do you want to stay at camp for the rest of the week here"
"What?!…. Did I do a bad job earlier?" Her voice, shaking a bit.
"What? No you did just fine, it's just you seemed a bit shaken as all"
"Oh…. Well I appreciate it…. Even though I'm scared of fighting, I still want to help".
"I see, well then you can help more in the future then".
They sat in silence, not like the awkward time from before, but in a more peaceful type, enjoying the beautiful dancing flame, as it seemed to get brighter as the sky darkened.
"Hey Eirene, if you're so scared of fighting, why did you join a guild?"
"Oh…. Well…. I joined cause I wanted to do something meaningful"
"Meaningful?"
"Yes…. About eight years ago…. My friend sacrificed herself for me…. It was a terrible accident that no one was at fault for…. But instead of saving herself…. She saved me, a worthless, fragile girl she called her friend" She said tears rolling down her face.
"Oh, i'm sorry that happened" He said, not sure as to how to comfort her.
"Thanks…. After the accident…. I went mute, as I didn't want to ever speak about the incident…. After about a week of that though…. I completed my X Task….. Which was, dont talk for a consecutive week"
Aeth nodded as he listened intently.
"I felt that this was a sign…. A sign that my friend's death meant something…. So when I turned sixteen and was allowed to join a guild…. I walked down to a guild I had wanted to join…. And that's when I met Terra". She finished, as more tears rolled down her face.
Aeth then hugged her, griping her tightly as if she'd run away.
Eirene was a little shocked, but settled in slowly.
"I had a similar thing happen to me, my best and only friend disappeared one day. Everyone thought I was the cause, since I hadn't found my Task and was around her the most, so I think I know a little bit about how you feel" He said, his voice shaking a little, as tears rolled up in his eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear about your friend, thanks for trusting me with that" As the tears stopped, but still covering her face.
Aeth then breaks away from the hug, as they both had calmed down.
"Of course, we're friends aren't we" Aeth said, smiling as if what he said was obvious.
Eirene's eyes widened at this.
With her Rule and last experience, she'd never thought she'd open up to anyone, let alone have a friend, someone she could laugh with, cry with, fight with, she'd thought she'd lost that forever eight years ago.
But now, some guy she'd only met a few days ago was offering just that, even after seeing her weak, vulnerable, and shy. Even freezing up and breaking down in the middle of a fight, but he still wanted to be her friend.
Eirene smiled.
Smiling for the first time in eight years, the first time since she became a Position, the first time since she'd lost her. Tears rolled down her face again, as she finally spoke up.
"Yes, I'd love to be your friend Aeth"
Aeth smiled.
"Glad to be your friend Eirene"
...
Terra sat in a spacious office, fit with a big wooden desk and a nice, soft, black chair.
There was a stack of papers with lists of names, all in alphabetical order, she picked one up and started reading.
As she did, you activated her [Reader] ability, looking into the character, soul, personality, and what she called a specialist factor.
This factor was how she determined who to add to the guild, as she needed tons of special people for her goal, which her ability was perfect for.
As she finished reading the paper, she crumbled it and threw it away in a bin beside her. The bin was full of other papers just like this, as she'd been doing this task all day.
She then looked over at a list of names on the left of her table, on which only had three, they consisted of Kara, Aether Torn, and Eirene.
Next to them had numbers, listing them in order as forty, eighty, fifty.
Terra then looked at the clock on the wall, then seeing as it was late, she put the left paper away in a drawer as she got up and went to her room, with a grim expression on her face.