Feyre
I walked along the cobbled path, hoping I was going in the right direction for civilisation. That weird guy earlier had run this way but he'd not used the path, instead opting for the forest. Maybe it was quicker, or maybe he was just a weirdo, I'd probably never know. It would have been mightily embarrassing if it turned out that I was going the wrong way, but it was too late to turn back now. I had a reputation to uphold to no one. I practiced different ways of walking, as I went. I wanted to see just how far my Acting skill could get me to seem different and I remembered reading an article in my previous life about how someone's walk is the best way to identify them.
It turned out there wasn't really a limit. After going through about twenty to thirty different walking styles, I chose a few to remember clearer than the others. Of course I had went with the noble-esque walk that was both refined and efficient. It was followed closely by one that was extremely confident, but not over confident. Then, the penultimate choice, I chose a rather intimidating one. It was one that utilised the rest of my body more proactively than the others, creating a scowl on my face that I bet could scare a blind person.
Finally, after sifting through a lot of different types of walk, I found one that was quite good, should I ever need to utilise my now clearly very high feminine charms. It would be a last resort, and that was why it was the final one I chose. I had at least some dignity, and this wasn't my original body. It was my body now though, I was sure the old owner had passed on if there even was one.
I stopped humming after a while, having ran out of good lullabies and the only other songs I could hum being pretty metal or pop. This path must have gone on forever, because it felt like I'd barely made it anywhere even though the light in the sky was dimming quite rapidly and the shadows of the trees were growing ever longer.
Eventually, I decided that it was both too dark and I was too bored to continue. So I went off the path a bit, finding a small clearing between two huge trees and plopped myself down at the base of the biggest, I looked through my storage a couple times and found nothing I really wanted. I sat there listening to the trees and leaves rustle and grown in the gentle breeze. Once I was feeling tired, I climbed up said tree, using nubs and slightly unstable branches to get to a larger and more sturdy branch. Before I had a chance to lean back, I got a System Notification again.
[System]
[Notice: Update Complete.]
[Update Logs: Fixed a lot of small bugs. Fixed major Bug: Unknown Outworlder Protocol.]
[You have slain a [Kuryuk Commander] [Elite Kuryuk] Ozlik Runtmaker Level 17]
[You have slain a [Warrior] [Kuryuk] Schizi Oldeguard Level 9]
[You have slain a [Warrior] [Kuryuk] Schimt Oldeguard Level 6]
...
...
...
[You have slain a [Hunter] [Kuryuk] Hiken Babybelch Level 8]
[EXP gained = 2100]
[You have killed a Monster as an Otherworlder]
[EXP gained = 50]
[Class and Race Experience being divided 9:1]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Class Level Up!]
[Wayfaring Knight has now reached Level: 44 (54/225)]
[Stats Bonuses have been Awarded.}
[Race Level Up!]
[Race Level Up!]
[You are now Level: 37 (8/185)]
[You have upgraded a Title!]
[Title: "Kuryuk Slayer" --> "Kuryuk Exterminator"]
[The Title: "Kuryuk Exterminator" is able to be equipped.]
[The Title "Kuryuk Exterminator": You have proven that you are willing to kill Kuryuk with an absolute prejudice. For every Kuryuk slain gain a bonus of +5 to all stats while within a Kuryuk or evolution.]
[System Quest Notice: [Impossible] Level Quest Completed with assistance. Three diminished Rewards are available.]
[Reward 1: [Unique Tome] "System Tome of Magicks" Within the Tome resides every single [Spell] in existence, along with its chant and description on what it does. Updates for every new spell created, can have infinite pages theoretically. Unbreakable and Only able to be read by you. Can be physical or in the form of System Notice.]
[Reward 2: [Unique Title] "Making the Impossible Possible" for every System Quest, Dungeon Quest, or Guild Quest that is [Hard] or above completed gain a bonus of 100 stat points in each stat. To achieve the impossible is to be rewarded by the vey System itself as a way of honouring your path to ascension.]
[Reward 3: [Unique Skill] chosen by the system to best complement your current goal and path. The System will ask you to input your goal and the [Skill] will be tailored to it and you.]
[Extra Information: Anything the [Unique] prefix, will only every be available to you. No one else has ever, or will ever, have that same thing unless it is made hereditary, which will degrade it from Unique to Hereditary and lessen the effects.]
That was a lot to take in as I sat in my tree bed thing. I wished I could take all three of those rewards but I guess If I was lucky I'd complete another Impossible Quest one day and be able to pick another one of these types of rewards. All three were so tempting although two of them would be a long term type of reward. I didn't even know if I could cast spells, so the book would only be helpful in telling me how to counter them. On the other hand, that Unique Title would be best for when I reach civilisation and join a Guild or something that gets me quests, one hundred stat points for every quest over hard would be an almost insane bonus as long as I had a steady intake. I wasn't sure how to react to the final reward. A Unique Skill tailored to me and my goal would be incredibly helpful, I was sure about that at least, I just didn't know what to make of it.
I decided to sleep on it. I was going to rest, relax, ponder, and then make my decision once I had thought about it for a while. I was leaning towards the book or the skill far more than the title, if only because I'd have to equip a Title and it would replace other more helpful ones when I wasn't doing Quests or whatever. Thinking of Titles made me realise I still had that Venator one equipped. It wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't the best one I had now, although the stats per class level was extremely useful to have, +88 to STR SPD and VIT was a good amount. A very good amount actually.
A yawn shattered my train of thoughts. I was exhausted. Clearly, the time I'd spent fighting Kuryuk and the whole dying and coming back made someone very very tired. And so I gave in to sleep, nestling myself so that I don't fall.
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Tyrril
A little bit earlier
Positively beaming, is what would be used to describe my face when we finally reached the border city of Errol. This trip had, had far more excitement than it had any right to. This wasn't even one of my more dangerous expeditions, usually. However, my guards and friends that were Karrlund, Pavolia, and Emrik all had gotten a good bit of EXP from fighting that Dire Wolf. It had even pushed Karrlund over the edge of his Class Level.
A fact that he had neglected to tell us until just as we were approaching the queue outside the City Gate. Perhaps he hadn't thought much of it, with all the suspicion and that spat with Emrik earlier, but I was almost certain that he had deliberately chosen to wait until the other guards had all wandered off after being paid before telling the group.
I was almost envious of the congratulations he got from the couple, no one celebrates a level up in the mercantile business, as that just means you've made more money and doesn't mean much else. Adventurers like them, though, they were different. They fought and risked their lives to level up even a single Class Level, and that meant everything in the eyes of the general population. I watched as Emrik clapped his leader on the back and Pavolia hugged them both briefly in a group hug.
Think of the Druatari King and he shall appear, Karrlund walked over to me with a resting smile and a glint in his eyes.
"You alright in there Tyrril? The weather's nice and that queue isn't going to be moving for a while. Apparently... One of the Forest-Men came back with incredible news. Whether that's good incredible or bad incredible, I'm not certain."
I nodded in agreement. If a Forest-Man, properly known as a Hunter of the Border Forest, sprinted back full tilt, then they either saw something of equal danger to a fully developed Dire Wolf, or a literal Mana Mine. No true Forest-Man would sprint back for anything less, nor are they likely to survive seeing some of the more dangerous of the monsters that can be occasionally found in amongst the trees. That said, it was a bit of a shame that we were stuck out here. I knew that this quest would be the one that got these three the promotion to Mana-Steel rank and they were going to be restless until I'd reported back to the guild that they'd completed their quest and the System acknowledged it.
"While that is happening, Karrlund, would you mind helping me out of the carriage and then getting the other two to make camp? I'm rather peckish and a good merchant never does business on an empty stomach. As my father always used to say."
I let a small smirk grace my face. My father was what some might call a Merchant King, he ate as much was as rich and he was ruthless in business. Which was to say, of course, that if someone crossed him, they'd die mysteriously, and he has coffers on par with a kingdom. Hence, Merchant King.
"That reminds me Tyrril, you said that you were coming here to sell some wares. But I have to ask, why weapons and armour? Especially such mass produced stuff as the stuff you're going to be selling? Do you think there's going to be a war soon?"
Karrlund asked this as he was helping me out of the carriage, my legs had long cussed me out and stopped working thanks to spending so long sitting down. I laughed and hid it with a coughing fit, a tactic that while effective at making sure other people don't realise what was going on, my friends and other merchants would instantly know they were right on the money.
The poor man grimaced. I knew why too, he was well on his way to being a Mana-Steel Adventurer himself. That sort of level and rank meant that even without his party he'd still be almost definitely hounded by the officials to get him to join up as an Elite. Alongside his party, however, it would be almost sacrilegious to not pursue them to join the military, if only for the duration of the war. A Gold Ranked party could change the tide of battle, but a Mana-Steel Ranked Party could probably change the tide of an entire war.
Scary stuff, actually thinking about it. After all, the entire fate of a kingdom could rest on just three people's shoulders. When those said three people were good acquaintances bordering on fast friends, it became even more terrifying a thought.
Karrlund, thankfully, didn't press more on the matter and gestured to the couple who were getting restless to make camp. I saw them both nod and open the compartment in the Carriage that held the gear. Guessing from their faces as they looked at each other I'd have to remember to use a scroll of Sound Proof on my tent tonight if I wanted a decent sleep.
Time passed, I sat next to the fire Pavolia had kindly started for us and warmed my hands. Emrik was on watch duty, even now and so Karrlund was asleep so as to not be too groggy when it was his turn.
I was expecting it when Pavolia crept out of her tent in her casual clothes. We always sat at the campfire together and talked a lot about very little. She had such expressive opinions that I couldn't help but find myself entranced by the vigour in which she preached her beliefs. Sometimes we talked about simple things like the weather, or gossip among our different social circles. This time, however, she had one thing on her mind.
"Tyrril. I'm glad you haven't forsaken our talk in order to sleep just yet. I dearly wish for the opportunity to discuss what I overheard from the Guards at the Gate earlier today. That Hunter of the Border Forest apparently saw a Faerie Queen..."
Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper, as if the very ground we were on might turn against us. And for all we knew, it might. Faerie Queens were stupidly rare. There's usually less than one sighting every couple of centuries. Yet, against all plausibility, one had appeared in the border forest right next to a nation preparing for war. This, along with Feyre's mysterious few days with us all but confirmed that there was something else at play here. A higher ranked noble, if her demeanour was anything to go by, appeared and unfortunately died to a Dire Wolf, yet another very rare sighting, and then not even half a week later a Faerie Queen was spotted. System damn it all, there was going to be a System Event during this war, wasn't there.
I voiced my concern to Pavolia who's face, even in the pale moonlight and glow of the campfire, visibly darkened and grew stormy.
"This is indeed an undoubtedly troublesome set of coincidences, especially given that the System very rarely isn't involved in said sets of coincidences."
We both sighed and I felt as if I had aged years just in this conversation. It was so draining, worrying about your future. I decided I was going to worry about something else, instead. Promptly, I wondered if my bedroll would be stable enough to not have me rolling down the slight slope of the clearing we were in.
It was nice to be able to worry about normal things every once in a while. While travelling I very rarely has such an opportunity as Fate and the System were not so magnanimous that they'd allow me such respite.
I bid farewell to Pavolia and gently teased her about keeping it down as to not wake up the whole city, before climbing into my tent and rolling onto the bedroll, my clothes being replaced with sleepwear thanks to an artefact.
As I drifted off, I realised I'd forgotten something very important.
I hadn't used the scroll of Sound Proof on my tent.
Oh well, I wasn't planning on sleeping more than 2 hours anyway.
