"When are we leaving" Barthold asked with a sigh, he had seen those monsters from afar, this fight would be more than just hard.
"No time like the present" Victoria said with a smile, they would leave for the communal zone today and would not comeback until they were all capped at Yellow.
Compared to the other expeditions this one was going to be a lot harder, with way more risks and all of this was so they could be prepared for a much bigger fight.
Soon enough they scattered into the courtyard as they prepared for what was to come next.
"That boy….he seems troubled" still seated on the floor, Thane commented as he watched Guilliman walk into a small room next to the tunnel.
He seemed to be lost in several layers of thought, his eyes brimming with determination and the willingness to take a risk. Normally, when such a look was noticed in a slayer, it was grounds for them to take a break.
Risks were good, but they could also lead to death.
"Hmm, he's always like that. But it's not our place to pry, we as his teammates are here to help him when he needs it" Victoria said calmly.
"But we won't interfere if he doesn't want us to interfere"
She had a strange feeling that he would never ask for help, even if he was at the edge of a knife.
As the group prepared for their departure, so did so many others in the shelter. From the very peak of the shelter, young and talented slayers flooded into the forest en mass.
Some looking to get to the level of those capped at Yellow, while others looking to even surpass that.
….
"What's with the cloak mister mysterious?"
As they walked through clawwood forest, Jemies voice resounded next to Guilliman as he poked fun of him. The kid had a black cloak over his head right now and his eyes could be seen dancing around with caution.
It was like he was expecting to be ambushed by a leaguer of assassins or something.
"Hmmm, nothing" Guilliman glanced at Jemie with a sharp look and flung his face aside. Using his soul pulse ability he was able to sense several parties of extremely strong slayers walking through the wild zones.
This was not normal, this place was usually extremely sparse.
'This Gate must be really special'
Guilliman mused, forgetting entering Yellow tier, if he was able to enter this Gate, the changes would be enough for him to survive the onslaught of the blackberry family, Or maybe he could even leave all together.
The truth to why he stayed in the blacksteel shelter was simple, he was too weak to leave, and unlike the slave girl he forced to leave, he had a choice.
Even the strongest individuals in the shelter would have a tough time leaving, as everywhere outside the shelter was a danger zone. No one could say for sure what you would run into.
But maybe if he could do very well in the gate, then maybe he'll be able to take that risk.
"We are almost there" Victorias voice sounded from the front as they slowly entered the tortie zone, they didn't stop there though soon taking a beline to the more dangerous parts of the communal zone.
"Victoria" as they walked cautiously, Guillimans voice resounded next to Victoria as he inched closer to her.
"I want to take a detour, just me…I'll be back in an hour tops" he said calmly looking at her.
"Ohh, okay. Don't get yourself killed" Victoria smiled, the kid probably needed some time to handle whatever he was going through, she wouldn't stop him.
"If you need help, don't forget to let me know!!" Guiliman soon departed under the sound of Victorias words.
"That's close enough" reaching the boarder between the communal zone and wild zone Guilliman stopped and looked around.
Then with a flick of his hand, two braces glowed into existence around his ankles. Then in the next second his entire attire changed as he was soon enveloped in a dark green amour.
Tortie shroud,
This was the mutant beast echo he had gotten from his last time here.
[Beast Echo: Tortie Shroud (Mutant ~ Knight)]
[Description: The Tortie is a beast with a powerful shell, protecting it from predators and prey alike. But be careful—green attracts greed.]
[Effects: Greed Positive, Resistance Against Evil]
[Greed Positive: The shroud attracts monsters more powerful than the user.]
[Resistance Against Evil: With every mortal strike, the shroud's defenses double.]
At that time, he hadn't really read the description of the echo he got so he had unknowingly attracted the Black-Devil mole to their location.
Yes, it was never after Victoria, it was under the effect of this echo he had gotten from killing the green backed tortie.
"Quite a scary effect if you ask me" Guilliman mused, looking at the dark green amour on his body, of course it had its advantages.
"Manifest" Guilliman called out Causing a dire wolf to appear next to him from thin air.
Wolfs were excellent trackers, especially in tarrain they were use to, Ghost had was constantly growing stronger with the supply of soul energy from his body and with his constant growth it will only grow stronger.
"Find me a mutant Tortie" Guilliman commanded as he inserting his blade into the ground and caressed the head of the Dire wolf.
"Huff" the wolf huffed using its nose to sniff the very air itself for a few seconds, then as soon as it spotted something it sprinted into the forest at full speed.
Guilliman expecting the speed followed behind closely using his rabbit braces, as they skerted through the boarder area of the communal zone
"There we go," as they moved, Guilliman quickly noticed what ghost was leading him towards and smiled.
While still in the air, he pulled his blade backwards and with a swipe downwards
"Gale slash" he released a powerful slash of wind cutting directly at the Tortie below, however, he didn't attack its weakest point which was. It's neck instead opting to hit it on its back shell.
As the wind from the slash Impactef the Torties shell, a mark appeared on it forcing it down to the ground as it lost balance for a second.
This of course didn't last long as the tortie quickly got up and faced Guilliman who was standing atop a rock.
Anger flashed in its eyes, but that wasn't the only thing. Its eyes shone with greed as it immediately followed Guilliman with all its might.
It wanted to eat him alive.
But this was also the result guilliman was looking for, turning around, he too fled away in a completely different direction, allowing the beast to follow him.