“Come on. Eat while it’s still warm.” Mona said.
It was the next day. Ren, Mona and Vivi had decided to eat breakfast together. Mona had to remind Ren to eat, but they got there eventually. Vivi was still dangerously thin, so they got her a very meaty plate of lamb slices.
“Ren, eat your vegetables.” Mona says.
“I’m eating them. Don’t worry.” Ren stuffs some lettuce into her mouth shortly after.
As they eat and clean their plates, the three women are approached by men in armor.
“Ren the adventurer. The Albrinter family has requested your presence.” the man says.
“Huf wof fef fof of ef of fofef hof fef.” Ren says whilst chewing.
“Ren, don’t speak with your mouth full.” Mona says.
After a moment, Ren spoke again.
“I said, I’m busy working out and making a magic item.”
“The Albrinter family has a quest for you.” the man says.
“I’ll be right there!” Ren shot up.
Ren began to rush towards the Albrinter estate, but Mona had grabbed her by her belt.
“Finish eating, Ren.”
Ren and Mona were brought to the Abrinter estate. There they met with Lutz Albrinter as well as most of the other sons and eldest daughter of Lord Albrinter. It is there that they discuss their desires for Ren’s services.
“We would like you to help us with our growing inquisition problem before it becomes a crusade problem.” Lutz says with authority.
“What about Mackamer?” Ren asked.
“Fuck, I forgot about that guy.” one of the brothers whom Ren had forgotten about groaned.
“We could use some help with exposing him, if you could spare the effort.” Lutz says.
“Could they be separate quests?” Ren asked.
“Easily done.” Lutz nods as he speaks.
“Okay! I’m going to stab the funky holy guy and Mackamer and be back.” Ren says as a matter of factly.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Lutz shouts. “Let’s roll it back. Let’s talk about the details first.”
The de facto head of the family clears his throat before resuming the discussion.
“We do have outstanding problems with the town. Both Parnidot’s mad crusade as well as Mackamer being a thorn in our side manipulating the market as he desires as well as having a history of hindering our efforts. For that reason, we would like to ask you to do the following. The first is to bring Parnidot to heel. Given the circumstances, we are also willing to accept his death. Please keep the casualties as minimal as you can. This order of nobility is problematic, but they are our citizens nonetheless. We’ll see them dealt with in due time, as long as Parnidot is dealt with.”
“As for Mackamer, we would like to secure evidence that he’s as evil as a devil and I’ll shoot him in the face myself.” Sardon Albrinter says.
“As my brother has said, if you would spare the effort to secure some means of bringing him to trial, you will be rewarded.” Lutz speaks more eloquently.
“But if he gets in your way on the Parnidot point, feel free to kill him without consulting us or a lawyer.” Gilligan says.
“I would still prefer him alive.” Perschale says.
“Pfft! Why?” Sardon scoffs.
“I have my reasons.” Perschale says. “Even then, I as a teacher have to set the right example for my students.”
“In either case, we would like for you to put our attention to the order of nobility. Unless Mackamer decides to surprise us with an army of crooks and mercenaries, he is of no consequence until we deal with the outstanding issue.” Lutz says.
“For that reason, we were hoping you would join us. We’re hoping to get some capable fighters and push the enemy as one.” Perschale says.
“We know that you are the only adventurer in town. So finding a party of other adventurers isn’t an option.” Gilligan says. “We plan on forming parties among those in our retinue or employ. Of course, some of us will be joining the battle too. In the worst case scenario, we could hire mercenaries to act on our behalf too. But even our coffers aren’t bottomless. That, and mercenaries aren’t well known for their loyalty or discipline. I wouldn’t put too much stock in any of them.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Cool.” Ren says plainly.
“I have a question.” Perschale says. “Have you ever worked in a party before?”
“Nope.” Ren says.
A silence falls onto the room.
“Well, I’m happy to teach you.” Perschale says. “How about a monster hunt?”
“Woo! I can hunt my first monster!” Ren says.
“Wait, this is your first monster?” Gilligan furrows a brow.
“Let’s go!!!” Ren shouts.
“I- I guess that’s a yes.” Sardon says.
“So we’ll be hunting a pack of lightning wolves.” Perschale says. “The pack moved in a while ago. They haven’t been much of an issue in the grand scheme of things, but they prowl the road between Blue Pine town and Eric’s farm. It’s a small little farming community. So small it’s not on any maps. Still, they grow chill cotton and sell it. Chill cotton is known to be extraordinary when woven into clothes. They also provide extra protection to the cold. Even without being enchanted with magic, wearing clothes made from it protects you from ice magic.”
“Cool.” Ren says.
“Cool.” a young boy seated next to her says.
Ren and Mona had joined Perschale on a horse drawn wagon. Additionally, Perschale had invited a handful of her students to join them on this hunt. What is startling is that despite clearly being younger than Ren, they are all a higher level than her. The boy immediately to Ren’s right is 12-years-old and he was already level 31. The voices in Ren’s head looked at his stats and were taken aback by this 12-year-old boy.
Melvin Lowe
Level 31 White Mage
Strength: 35
Magic: 82
Agility: 31
Vitality: 31
Magic Capacity: Clear
Skills:
First Aid level 10
Spells:
Heal level 18
Cure Poison level 7
Unknown spells are hidden due to level disparity
Status: Normal
And it’s not just him. The dozens of kids riding in this cart with Ren are easily double, or maybe even triple her level.
“Now class, does anyone know what a lightning wolf is?” Perschale asked the kids.
“It’s a wolf!” one of the kids say.
“That’s right! Anything else?” Perschale asked.
The students were quiet.
“How about you, Ren?” Perschale asked.
“They’re wolves attuned to lighting magic. They are a breed of wolves, and not mutated monsters. A notable ability of theirs is that their fangs are always coursing with lightning. Their fangs make for good arrowheads and crossbow bolts to imbue the arrow with lightning magic. They can otherwise be broken down to be used as materials for magic items. As wolves, they are also pack hunters. Generally speaking, wolves hunt in packs. Their strategy mainly revolves around outnumbering, surrounding and attacking as a team. They use this strategy to defeat monsters of a higher weight class than them. They’re also known to target singular targets. They intimidate a group until one separates from the group. It is that individual who is targeted first. In turn, their confidence can be broken too. If they are outnumbered by enemies of reasonable threat, they are very hesitant to attack. Additionally, lone wolves are actually really weak when compared to a reasonable fighter. Unless cornered or supremely desperate, a lone wolf will not attack a group.”
“That’s right. All good points, Ren.” Perschale praises Ren.
The students look at Ren. Mona takes her eyes off the road and looks back at Perschale.
“You handle kids, much better than I would have expected.”
“It’s nothing. All my students asked to study under me. It’s not like any of them are being forced to take lessons from me. I’m just lucky to be blessed with so many eager students.”
“That’s only because Ms. Albrinter is the best teacher ever!” a girl says.
“I want to be strong. I’ve only been taking her classes for a year and I’m already level 25.” a boy says.
“Anyone who ignores Ms. Albrinter’s class doesn't level up.” another girl says.
All the students continue to chat.
“Alright, class. We’re here.” Perschale announces.
The wagon Mona was driving comes to a stop. Left on the road is an abandoned wagon. It’s driver and horse had long since abandoned the goods inside. Perschale opens a crate in the back and finds chill cotton in spools.
“This is the place. Dale, can you track the wolves for us?” Perschale says.
“Okay!” one of the boys says.
The boy looks around briefly before starting down a direction and shouting.
“This way guys!”
Ren, Mona and the class head off road and into a forest. The boy named Dale leads them until they reach a cave entrance. They stop before they reach the entrance, and Perschale speaks up.
“Now, for the main topic.” Perschale says. “We came here to practice fighting in teams, or the parties of ancient legend.”
“I wanna go!”
“Me too!”
The students jump at the notion.
“I’m glad you all are so eager, but let’s just watch Ren and Ms. Hazel.” Perschale says.
“Aw.”
All the students groan in disappointment. Ren, Mona and Perschale begin to approach the mouth of the cave. As they do, they are met with growls and sneers.
“Ren! Get ready.” Perschale says.
“I’m ready.” Ren says.
“But your sword is still in it’s scabbard.”
“It’s part of my technique. Don’t worry, I’ll draw it.”
“If you say so.”
As they spoke, wolves covered in yellow fur began to emerge from the cave entrance. Lightning arcs from their maws. They don’t immediately pounce. Rather, the wolves begin to circle their flanks.
“Don’t let them get the surround.” Perschale says.
“Okay. Hang on.” Ren says.
Ren waits for the wolves to make their move. When a wolf finally starts rushing at the party with a pounce, Ren finally strikes.
“Blade flashing, steel drawn.
Your blade sang first, feel cold light.
In a blink, you die.
Form 1: Flash”
The wolf is slashed apart mid pounce.
“Good job, Ren! Keep it up.”
Ren points at a cluster of wolves.
“Fireball.”
“Focus, Ren! Mitigate the magic coursing through your body. Maximize the magic you are channeling!” Perschale says.
At those words, the harmful magic accumulating in Ren’s magic capacity is reduced. The fireball spell in her hand also gains power. As Ren fires the spell, the flames encapsulate a larger area and is more damaging than she has ever seen before.
“Oh! What was that?” Ren asked.
“That was Ms. Albrinter’s skill! Coaching!” one of the students behind the party shouts.
“Yeah! Ms. Albrinter can coach us. We get buffs and gain experience.” another student says.
“Cool!” Ren says flatly.
“Watch your left!” Perschale shouts.
Ren sees a wolf trying to pounce on her. In response, Ren activates her ring of minor protection. Two shields appear at either side of her and thwart the wolf’s efforts to pounce.
“Good job, Ren!” Perschale says. “Watch how your magic shields react to the wolves.”
Wolves launch themselves at Ren, but they crash face first into the magic shields. To be more precise, the wolves bash their snouts against the shield. They also try to claw at the shields, but those aren't as effective as their magically electric fangs.
“You can use those shields more effectively.” Perschale shouts. “By angling shields properly, you can better block attacks before they break. In this instance, as long as the wolves are incapable of wrapping their fangs around your shields they can't break them.”
“Cool!” Ren says.
“Take a center position! Use the shields to block the wolves. Give Mona room to work and maneuver.”
“Okay.” Ren says
“Mona, fight aggressively. Let Ren hold the enemies.”
“I'm working on it!” Mona shouts.
“Ren! Let Mona focus on fighting. Make sure to protect her. If any wolves get behind her, attack them.”
Perschale was coaching the both of them. Ren remained as an easy grounded enemy for the pack of wolves to label as a clear target. Mona moved swiftly and any wolf that targeted her would swiftly lose sight of her. Off in the distance, Perschale and her students observe the battle.
“Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?”
