Marc stood in a large mass of lower-level adventurers. When he oke up that morning and was told to join the muster, he wasn''t sure what to expect. Being told that he had to go out and finish some last minute missions before the flood came was not surprising in retrospect.


    Next to him was Lloyd and a few other adventurers, all below level 10 and untested. They would be sent to check up on other towns, bring some supplies to certain places, and one Icess would be going out to recruit a hermit. The other, more experienced adventures would be trying to cull the numbers of Dire Beasts.


    They’d be allowed to recruit others from the allied factions, though were told that anyone they might recruit would likely also have some last minute faction tasks.


    Despite the life and death nature of it all, Marc was reminded of a holiday rush rather than what he expected a military to look like. Lloyd, meanwhile was shifting from one foot to the other, clearly impatient.


    “Alright, if I already gave you your assignment, you’re dismissed, otherwise we’ll do it here. Questions? Good,” the administrator said, not looking up from the pile of papers nor waiting for an answer.. Marc was sure he should probably know his name, which brought to mind how Fray’s group thought he was called Guy. Therefore, the admin was named Guy in Marc’s head, and would probably stay that way.


    “Alright, starting from the bottom. Daw, Clint, weapons to Thornbrook, and try not to get killed. Thea, Harn, and Gerwick, there’s a scholar out in Hewston with a book we want. Marc, Lloyd,” Lloyd, for the first time in minutes, looked up while Marc stood a bit straighter,” ink to the academy, and you’re going to need to escort a philosopher as well. You’re getting an alchemist for that, so start over at their guildhall.”


    The academy had to be Mystle academy, the place where Barry was from. Marc nodded his head, and waited for the end of the names called out. Eventually, the not-full member adventurers were dismissed. Lloyd and Marc were some of the last out of the room, and heard a few more jobs getting called out.


    “So, Mystle Academy huh?” Marc said to Lloyd.


    “Yeah. Isn''t that Pyromancer you know from there?” Lloyd asked back.


    “I think so. Nico is from the Alchemist so maybe we can ask for him to be the one that joins us.”


    “That’d be good. He’s from Trinity city?”


    “Yeah, him and Helen.” Marc responded. The two continued their small talk as they moved lazily through the streets. Eventually when they got back around to the prospect of new Historia, Lloyd revealed that he was considering a Shaman’s Historia and a Rogue’s. The former would be in high supply after the flood, and were already cheaper here than almost anywhere else. The latter, though rarer, weren’t so valuable that they would be out of the question.


    “Hey, do you think they''re going to let us join the defenses?” Lloyd asked, as they finally turned down the street with the Alchemist’s Guildhall.


    “I don’t see why they wouldn’t. There’s only so many people with classes in the city.” Marc was really hoping he would get the chance to help the city. More to gain some experience than anything else, but still.


    “I heard in the market yesterday that the queen is emptying the Canopy Ward of most of its guard for the defense. Almost everyone up there is Classed,” Lloyd stage whispered. Marc’s shoulders slumped and he continued, “And I heard from that one Fray Dwarf that they ‘Don’t need low levels like us.’”


    “So what, we just sit on our hands?” Marc didn’t know who the Fray Dwarf was, but there were only so many dwarven adventurers to go through.


    “Eh, only for as long as the flood lasts. Maybe 2 weeks, tops.”


    They had, by now, gotten to the Guildhall. Lloyd went to knock on the door, before it opened and Nico walked outside. He stared at the two of them, before recognition hit him.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    <hr>


    Nico was, indeed, the one who was sent to Mystle academy. Which meant that all that was left was their last preparations within the city and grabbing the shipment. Marc hadn’t really considered ink as being something difficult to obtain, but this was a world without Amazon. The stuff had to be made from actual, real squids. The good stuff, some of which they were transporting, was then refined and infused with some neutral magic by an Alchemist (the class, not necessarily the guild).


    After checking their equipment and getting ready to go, the three set off. They had a full on carts and either donkeys or mules to pull. Marc could never tell the difference, and was of the opinion that it didn’t really matter right now. They left from the north gate of the city, where before Marc had only left the West gate.


    On their first hunt, Jacky had been the one directing them and giving out strategy, and now it was Nico’s turn. Or it would be, if the elf was willing to make the decisions. It wasn’t said out loud, but Marc was fairly sure that he didn’t really want to be in charge.


    That left the less experienced two to make up their plans. Given Nico was a Sapper, capable of spells that weren’t too unlike what Jacky used, they decided to just stick with what she said, and informed Nico of that. The elf nodded, before going back to “road alchemy” as he called it.


    To Marc, it looked a lot like picking flowers and shivering.


    After a few hours, by which time Marc had gained another stack and a half of Sightseeker, Lloyd joined him in shivering, though Marc wasn’t feeling the chill himself. It seemed like it had only dropped a few degrees, though the clouds overhead and the wind blowing around them didn’t help


    “Not fair. . .” Lloyd muttered, loud enough for Marc to hear it.


    “Hm?” Nico asked.


    “Marc’s dumb boon gives him environmental resistance.” The human whined.


    “Oh. That rem-minds me.” Nico’s teeth were chattering as he spoke. Marc, meanwhile, was deciding whether to feel smug or to feel bad for his friends. He was leaning on bad for his friends as Nico pulled out two pale orange potions, handing one to Lloyd and downing one himself.


    “Oh that’s so much better.” Lloyd said.


    “I keep a few of those around just in case. Simple recipe, if you want to learn.”


    Marc turned to them, asking “Hot drink?”


    Nico replied, “Warming potion.”


    The march and road alchemy continued for a few hours, until the sun was low enough in the sky that they had to stop. Moving to the side of the road, Marc started looking for some dry wood to burn before Nico stopped him. Taking out a small phial and chanting in the magic language, Nico allowed a single drop to fall to the clear forest floor. The milky liquid turned into a blue flame, only bounded by Nico’s magic. Marc and Lloyd both jumped back, startled, but the bonfire was complete.


    <hr>


    Marc was awakened in the middle of the night by Nico shaking him, telling him it was his turn for watch. The farlander was still not fully used to watch schedules, but could keep himself awake long enough. He always took the last watch so he didn’t need to worry about timing things.


    The bonfire was still going strong, though it had faded from a violent blue to a more normal orange. Alchemy was fast becoming something Marc may look into a Historia for, but that was something to consider later. From his point of view, he looked out and listened for anything approaching.


    There was nothing but some nocturnal animals for a long, long time. Everything was as it should be for hours. But, as the first bits of light turned the black sky gray, there was an unnatural silence. The birds and animals that should be making their way to nests and dens were quiet. Marc was on alert as soon as he realized.


    Scanning the horizon, he saw the slightest bit of movement. A single figure, barely distinguishable from the treeline. It was slow moving, and it made no sound he could hear. Then, he saw more movement. Another figure, humanoid, also moving towards him. Then, another, and another.


    Marc saw ten or more slowly limping humanoids moving towards their camp. He moved to Lloyd and Nico, shaking them awake. As he pointed to the figures, Nico swore.


    “Undead. Can’t tell what kind. Get ready.” He gave each of them a potion in pepto bismol pink. Marc grabbed his axe, and Lloyd his daggers. Nico himself pulled out a contraption, before dumping the rest of the bonfire phial into it.


    “Oh, Marc?” the elf asked, getting his attention. When Marc turned to him, he continued, “Drink this,” tossing another potion. This one was a sickly green color. Marc barely caught it, dropping his axe entirely, but quickly pulled the stopper out and downed it. It tasted like pure mint extract, and the texture was oddly chunky.


    Picking his axe back up Marc blanched at the taste. He handed the bottle to Nico, “What is that, eugh.” His question was answered with a new active status effect.


    [FIRE RESISTANT] (Skill - Alchemy)


    Grants 80% resistance to fire damage


    Prevents burns from open flames.