CH.208 Alice getting tested
<span style="font-weight:400">After our … scout flight and taking care of the biggest threat, we were having our lunch break, while we were also going over what monsters we should hunt.
<span style="font-weight:400">Because the guild master, who had actually somehow gotten over the A-rank monster, asked for it, I let Alice take charge of deciding what monsters will be hunted. Apparently this was going to be a part of her rank-up exam.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I think these monsters should be hunted.” Alice said, pointing out a few locations on the map, which Goblin Calligrapher had drawn before we began our break.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good. What do you think about these?” The GM asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... are they? I don’t think they are a problem, right? They are quite far from any major roads and viges.” Alice answered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Correct. But think about this. What was here?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... there? The A-rank monster was there, right? But Brian took it down already, so why?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Exactly. The major monster which was calling that area its own has been defeated, what do you think will happen?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I … I’m not sure.” Alice answered meekly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Other monsters will likely try to take over the control of that area. These orcs, these forest tigers, maybe even this imp group might head there. And that will result in a fight. What do you think will happen then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Won’t they just kill each other? Or maybe one group will win and take over that area?” Alice theorized.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Possibly, but one group also might retreat. And if these tigers retreat, where do you think they will end up?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... close to the road?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Correct.” The GM confirmed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“So we should take them down?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“No. Again, you are thinking too simply. The D-rank tigers are a smaller threat, their territory is already between the road and the area where the sword-horn lived and we have plenty of power avable, so what do you think we should take down?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... the orcs then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. Now, what do you think will happen then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... the tigers and the imps will fight for this area, right? And the tigers will win?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. That is the likely oue. And that would result in the tigers moving further away from the road, making the road safer.” The GM concluded.<sup ss="modern-footnotes-footnote " data-mfn="1"></sup><span ss="modern-footnotes-footnote__note" data-mfn="1">I have no idea if that is what would actually happen, I just feel like that is correct
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I see.” Alice said, as she wrote down a bunch of things into her green covered notebook.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">From that point on, I let Alice take charge of the quest. Sure I was still flying Big Core, but that was all I did. Letting Alice point out the next points where we would go, and letting her take down the monsters, either solo, or with Ria and Paulina’s help. She did summon Getsu Fuhma to help her out one time, but that is still solo. Kind of.
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">None of the monsters stood too much of a chance. Even the C-rank orcs were quickly taken down by Alice and Ria. The two of them are really growing in power so quickly. I remember when we took on that orc hunting mission with Saber Fang. Back then, Alice’s spells really didn’t hurt them that much, but now she could pierce them with one dark spear. They might not die in one hit, depending on where the spearnded, but they still took major damage from each shot. So I guess you could say that she has enough power to pierce their defenses.
<span style="font-weight:400">In total, she hunted 7 orcs, 9 imps, 5 forest deer and two C-rank snakes, called ck snakes. Yes, they are in fact ck in color. How did you guess? They are quite fast and have lethal poison, so getting bitten is extremely bad, unless you carry an antidote with you. Some call them the practice before fighting wyverns, as with wyverns you also have to look out for the poison, except that from wyverns ites from the tail, not the fangs. And wyverns fly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Also, after the first time, I made sure that Alice had to drag the corpses to the teleportation beam before I stored them in storage, just because she was “having it too easy”, ording to the GM. Well, if she had arge magic bag, she could use that.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">After our return trip, we got down from Big Core and drove Overdrive to the guild to recap the quest. Ria actually offered to ride on the roof of Overdrive to give Alice and Paulina more space, but the two of them said it was fine, so we were all inside. And at that point I would have just summoned a second one and let Ria and Paulina take that one.
<span style="font-weight:400">At the guild, we were guided straight into the GM’s office. We got a few looks from the adventurers that had returned already, but nothing more than that.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Now, first of all. Miss Watchman. I believe that you have the knowledge and power required of a C-rank adventurer.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-thank you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“However, you seem to rely too much on Brian. You struggle to takemand unless he orders you to. This in itself isn’t always a bad thing, as it doesn’t take away from your good qualities, but it might cause problems in emergencies, if you have to takemand in an unexpected situation. And it is something you should work on, as you might not get approved to B-rank unless you can act as a party leader. But that isn’t an issue for now. I’ll fill up your paperwork and you can take it to one of the receptionists. They will update your guild card.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I - yes. Thank you. I’ll do my best in the future.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Now, as for you.” The GM said as he turned his gaze to me.
<span style="font-weight:400">I purposefully made a face, trying to have that ‘What, Me?’ look.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t make that face. You know exactly what I mean. … hah. What am I to do with you?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Nothing.” I offered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Nothing? How can I just ignore what happened?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Question, did anyone know about the sword-horn bull? Probably not, right? Just based on the fact that you didn’t know of it. So if no one knew about it, why do you have to report about it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... haaah. Fine. I’ll see if there will be any reportsing in. But note that if any do, I will be reporting this to the higher ups.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s not what I actually meant. I meant that you should just report what happened to the higher ups as I know you have to do that. And just not tell anyone else anything, assuming that no one knows about it to begin with.” I exined. “That way, there will be no rumors going around about it, right? People will just assume that you were able to force yourself to observe us, like your assistant tried. Sometimes not telling people the truth is for the best.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmm. I suppose you have a point. But what about the corpse of that monster? Don’t you want to sell it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I could, but I kind of want to keep it for an experiment. At least some parts of it. And I kind of feel like I should give the monster core to a certain noble because of the core he let me use.” Yeah I know. An A-rank core isn’t really a recement for an S-rank core, but at least it can be a ceholder, until I find an S-rank monster.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you sure?” Paulina asked. “That thing is worth a lot of money.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“About keeping all of it, or giving the core to Christina?” I asked. “Well, I could sell some of it, but I’d at least keep the core and the hide. As I said, I want the core for your sister and the hide for my own experiments.” To be specific, for the forge project. If I do make a forge in a space isted factory room, I’ll need materials. And A-rank monster hide should be great for that. I can make my own version of what is being made for Ria and I.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, I won’t tell you what to do with your monster corpse.” The GM said. “But even if you do have … what did you call it? Inventory? Won’t it go bad?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It might, it might not. I’m willing to take that chance.” I answered vaguely.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... if you change your mind, we will be happy to negotiate a price for it.” The GM offered. “Now off with you, before you break my sense of reality any more.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I got up and we all left the room.
<span style="font-weight:400">“See youter.”
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">After that, we quickly visited the receptionist, so she could update Alice’s card to C-rank. Then we sold all of the monsters she hunted. In total, she got 101 gold coins for them. A good chunk of money. She gave me 25 gold for transport and butchery fees, Ria 15 gold for her help dealing with the snakes and orcs. And Paulina 10 gold for her part in hunting the orcs.
<span style="font-weight:400">I have to say, it really isn’t worth it to hunt B-rank monsters. They just aren’t worth the threat level they have. I guess the quest reward for them is higher, so maybe that will make up for it, but the materials just aren’t worth the increased risk factor.
<span style="font-weight:400">Next stop before returning home was the armor store. We had gotten that letter yesterday and I even asked the maids to write up a response, so we had to visit.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wee. Oh, it''s you. And Lady Paulina. Wee.” The female dwarf was holding down the front of the store. “Miss, how has the cloak been serving you?” She asked Alice, referring to the mage’s cloak she bought from here previously. Well technically I paid for it, but anyway. Alice should now have money, so I could ask her to pay me back, but I kind of want to find out if she realizes herself that she should do that.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I really like it. It''s really nice.” Alice answered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“d to hear it has been serving you well.” The dwarf said, walking to us and taking a good look at the cloak. “Hmm. Minor damage only. Good. Have you fought anything strong after you got it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We did fight a hydra a few days ago.” Alice answered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“A hydra? You are the ones that took it down?<sup ss="modern-footnotes-footnote " data-mfn="2"></sup><span ss="modern-footnotes-footnote__note" data-mfn="2">Obviously the hydra materials would be avable on the market, and as armor makers they would likely find out about it I didn’t know you were of that high of a rank. I would have rmended something more than that had I known.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do you have something like that?” Alice asked, likely feeling the burn from all of that money she has earned from both today and the hydra.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No, not on hand. It would have to be a custom order.” The dwarf answered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Okay. Then I’ll keep this for now. I was also thinking of visiting that other store you rmended.” Alice said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Be sure to tell them Atrea sent you.” The dwarfdy, possibly named Atrea, reminded her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Now then. To what you came here for.” She said, walking back behind the counter. She then opened arge closet and pulled out two leather jackets. Well, it is actually armor, not a jacket, but it does look like a jacket. “Miss, you first.” She said, looking at Ria.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ria took a step forward and tried on her armor.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... alright. This is good. The sleeves are just a bit too tight. We’ll have to loosen them up when we install the metal tes. That will also give some more space for the gauntlets…” She said, as she was looking at Ria. “Move your arms around a bit. See how it feels.”
<span style="font-weight:400">She did as instructed, moving a bit and throwing a few punches.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Does anything feel off? Anything too tight?” Atrea asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No. It is loose, rather than tight.” Ria answered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good to hear. But it should feel just a bit loose at the moment, as it will get a bit tighter as the metal parts get added.” Atrea said. “But it does seem to fit you nicely, so we can just keep going.” She said, and helped Ria take off the jacket. “Now, your turn sir.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I took my turn to try on my ‘jacket’.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmm. Yes. It seems to fit just fine.” Atrea said as she was taking a look. “Move around a bit, try how it feels.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I did as ordered and swung my arms around a bit. The armor didn’t limit my movements basically at all, so that is great. I thought it was perfect, until I ran into a little problem.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I can’t roll up my sleeve.” I said, as I tried to clear my terminal so I could activate my duel disk. The leather was a bit thick, so rolling it wasn’t easy.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Your sleeve? Why… oh? That thing your terminal turns into. I’m so sorry. I forgot to consider it as you didn’t have it out when I measured you.” Atrea apologized when she realized the mistake we made. I can’t really even me her, as I should have considered it myself when she measured me. “How should we deal with that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We could just cut off that part of the sleeve?” I offered, recalling how my noble’s clothing will actually only have elbow length left sleeve, so my terminal will be visible for all to see.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That will simply not do. Please give me a moment. I’ll …”
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">Our final choice for the fix was to cut a slit into the sleeve which my duel disk could extend out from. That way, I could both have a full sleeve protecting me, while also being able to bring out my duel disk when I need it. It would affect the defense a bit, but my terminal under said sleeve should make up for it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I think we will have them finished in just about a week. I’ll be seeing you then.” Atrea saw us off.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">We returned to the manor and made our report there as well. I was quickly questioned about the A-rank bull, but as soon as I showed him the monster core from it, Tahlia had dismantled the monster btw, he believed that I was telling the truth. He offered to buy the core from me, but I just told him that I was nning on giving it to Christina to make up for the one used in my dungeon.
<span style="font-weight:400">Alice also got her reward card. Dark de. She actually wanted Dark de the Dragon Knight, but I told her it would be useless for her without Dark de, so she agreed to get it first.
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">Also, in case you were wondering, I’m not actually going to give her a toploader Polymerization. When she has all the parts for the summon, I’ll either give her a one-time use Poly, or just let her borrow a toploader Poly. They have the effect outside of my monsters, so I don’t want Alice to have one. Not because I don’t trust her, but because I wouldn’t trust anyone with that power.
<span style="font-weight:400">After that, the rest of the day was practice time. Magic practice with Cosmo Queen, telekinesis practice with Paulina, Ria was working hard on both controlling blood iron and Vampiric Body Modification with Grimson and Scarlet Scourge, and Alice was working hard with Mana, trying to learn a new spell. All around, all of us were trying to get stronger.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, I’m not. I’m just having fun. I highly doubt that I’ll ever be able to exceed the power of my most powerful summons, so I’ll just focus on utility techniques instead of straight power.
<span style="font-weight:400">But still, I should practice swordsmanship again. Maybe tomorrow can be abat practice day. Ria can learn some punching techniques from one of my monsters, while I practice with the sword. We didn’t have anything nned for tomorrow, so yeah.
<span style="font-weight:400">Of course, the day ended with level ups. That is the norm, right. For myself, I got one more level into Mana Control. I really think I might need it for learning Space Magic, so yeah. Just one more, then tomorrow can be Unity. For Ria, I leveled up Unarmed Combat Technique.
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Name: Brian Wood</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Race: Human !</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Level: 72</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">HP: 2410</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana: 3150</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Strength: 695</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Defense: 895</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Magic: 855</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Skills:</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Pack Opener LV.4 (unique)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Different Dimension Factory LV.2 (unique)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Storage LV.10 (unique)<span style="font-weight:400">
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400"></td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Telekinesis LV.3 (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Summoner’s Unity LV.3 (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Dungeon Founder (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Summon Water Spirit (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Health Conscious (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana Control LV.7</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Water Spirit’s Blessing (Greater)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Language Comprehension (humanoid)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">ve Master</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">ves: Rhianna</td>
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[copse]
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Name: Rhianna</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Race: Dhampir</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Level: 64</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">HP: 1780</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana: 1990</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Strength: 1035</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Defense: 745</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Magic: 920</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px">Skills:</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">True Blood Magic LV.5 (Racial)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Vampiric Body Modification LV.2 (Racial)<span style="font-weight:400">
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400"></td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Card Summoner LV.2 (extra)<span style="font-weight:400">
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Fire Magic LV.3</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana Control LV.4</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Fast Mana Recovery LV.4</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Internal Magic Technique LV.5</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Unarmed Combat Technique LV.5</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Flickering Step LV.3</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Power Boost LV.5</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Defense Boost LV.3</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Blood Sucker (Racial)</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">ve. Master: Brian Wood</td>
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, that’s it for today. Good night.
<span style="font-weight:400">