"Fuuck! I am so done!" sprawled on the ground in a rare place with no hobgoblin corpses, or their blood puddles for that matter, grumbled Kenji, his exhaustion and sentiment mirrored by a few more, similar grumbles coming from the rest of the party, including Kaede who was now using Kenji as a pillow, slumped over their tank.
"It was not that bad and besides, we finished the task." Jack hummed from the side, slowly walking from one monster corpse pile to another, devouring them all for matter to craft more stuff once they return to their temporary home.
"Just how high is your vitality? Bring it down to our level and go through a similar battle, then let's talk." spat back Fumiko, though there was little energy in her words, the girl, much like the rest of her party was well and fully exhausted.
"And give you the satisfaction to see my arrogance and pride brought low? Not a fat chance." Jack laughed as he continued with his task. There were numerous corpse piles still for him to clear out, giving his party a decent amount of time to recover before they start their path home.
"And besides, look at the bounty you received for all that hard work!" he added as he himself looked at the quest reward, thinking in his head 'You have no idea how generous the system has been with the reward for it.'
Monster purge- with the monster camp's boss dead, clear the camp of the remaining monsters to ensure no actual threat can be reassembled by a newly arisen boss monster. As a party of proper heroes, you chose to do what must be done. Completed. Reward- three free attribute points.
"When you look at it that way, I suppose you are correct." hummed exhausted Izumi. "I am level twelve now and had not received any free attributes after level ten. If the trend continues and only the levels from one through ten give actual attribute points then any extra ones earned have insane value indeed. They are the only way we can get stronger, so that also means that gear is going to be insanely important going forward." she calculated, then asked a rather important question that needed some extra clarification.
"Jack, how well do you think your progress will be once we are outside when it comes to developing new recipes? You have helped us earn plenty of benefits, the attributes right now in particularly being of great importance."
"Worried about the need for better gear and not having access to it, while the established powers no doubt will have plenty of starter gear for most tiers, yes?"
"A bit, can you blame me?" Izumi confirmed.
"Nope, why would I? The fact you ask it so openly shows a great level of trust and a desire to ensure we all can grow and continue ahead. Don't worry about my end though. As long as I have plenty of matter I will be able to make some insane shit, so much so that you will have to go on regular expeditions, or whatever they could be called in this world to have the excuses ready for where you acquire all the shiny shit I will make." Jack grinned, still a man on a mission to fill his matter storage. THose spatial rings will not make themselves out of nowhere.
"Anything in particular that gives you such confidence?" asked Fumiko, also sprawled out on the ground like all the others.
"A secret that will stay between us though, but the thing is, I cannot create anything below epic quality and as for the reason I have yet to craft anything more advanced or filled out our gear, armor and all? I was simply lacking the matter for it. There amount I can acquire from goblins and hobgoblins is pitifully small. Think about it. The next gear tear starts at level ten and rare few hobs have gone past that threshold. How am I supposed to get the material for a higher tier stuff? Oh, and the matter part- let's keep that to ourselves as well. I have a very strong suspicion that is also not something that is available for many others."
"So, in theory, if you have the material, we could be decked out to the teeth with epic level gear nearly all the time, even when breaking in the next tier?" Izumi asked.
"Yep. Be a good girl and I can probably cook even better stuff in the future. I have this nagging feeling there is a lot I have yet to understand about the class."
"That sounds like absolute bullshit class. Wouldn't that allow you to be a first rate combatant as well, given how decked out you could be?" Chiyo asked, yet another exhausted voice joining in.
"Oi. Do you want to overwork your crafter? Have some shame. I will craft stuff an work on the administrative stuff, maybe some cloak and dagger, while drowning in money and pussy. You meanwhile will go out and clear dungeon and stuff, bringing back valuable stuff and an excuses for the existence of the gear I make. A win win."
"Will your level not stagnate then?" Kenji asked.
"A crafter, remember? We gain experience by crafting, so no issues there." Jack replied 'and besides, you will be grinding my experience as well by killing monsters with the weapons I make.' he thought to himself.
"What about selling the gear you make? Should bring in plenty of profit, no?" Emi asked.
"I think I will do one of two things. Either pick a single category, making it seem as the Virtuoso specialization, earning an excuse for said spec coming out epic, or use some sort of a concealed persona to sell my gear. There is too much unknown about the world out there at the time for me to decide."
"Why is there no tutorial clear message or something?" Kaede asked.
"I would guess we have to leave the camp for it to go off? Dunno honestly." Jack made a guess, using whatever he knew thus far. His regressor, yet non regressor knowledge helping jack shit right now, pun intended. 'Right, that too had to be figured out eventually.' he reminded himself about the regressor who no doubt was going wild in some other tutorial zone right now and growing much, much faster than he had done the first time around, whatever that had been. 'Who knows, if the fellow is decent, we might even have some fun as he regales the shitshow of the tale said first go around had been.' Jack mused on, not forgetting to continue with his own clean up duty.
"Feel free to take a nap kids. I will wake you up once I am done." Jack called out to the exhausted group that was still enjoying the pleasant and welcoming embrace of mostly hardened soil, stomped on by hundreds, if not thousands of hobgoblin feet, hopefully covered, though Jack was enough of a 'good guy' not to remind of said fact until after they had left. No way in hell was he going to pass up on such a heaven sent opportunity, no sir.
He did as he had planned, clearing out the now empty camp, allowing his party to have a much deserved nap for a couple of hours before they had to leave and return back home.
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Whatever Anastiela had expected, this was definitely not it. There had never been a case where any of the tutorial groups had gone and finished the task with such speed, more so with yet another group extremely close to their own victory as well. And while she was not overly surprised at the progress of the second group, their success mostly attributed to the first epic class that had ever emerged from tutorials, accompanied by almost ten, high potential individuals, she had almost no reasonable explanation for what she was seeing.
And what a sight that was. The moment any tutorials gifted slew the boss of their respective camp and at least one person left said monsters camp, assuming they killed the boss before invasion stage of the tutorial started, she would be summoned forth, allowing her to congratulate said brave warriors for their success and to console them for whatever losses they must have suffered and allowing the victors to make a small request as their reward for a hard fought battle.
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Whatever she saw was not it as she appeared before a group of no more than seven and while clearly exhausted, they were in mostly good health, some small bruises rearing their own heads here and there, but nothing that would even truly hinder their ability to move now, let alone after a night of rest, easily solved by a small application of healing magic. Still, she was nothing if not composed and experienced, allowing her to hide her jaw dropping surprise and confusion, though some of it drifted away as she noticed the equipment that said party wielded.
'Epic quality? Virtuoso's set? Now that is beyond just a regular variant then.' she mused in the couple of seconds she spent on both the bewilderment and inspection, her mind working many times faster than even the smartest of humans.
"Welcome once more and congratulations, oh brave adventurers, for you have performed a great feat in defeating the monster leader of your tutorial group. You might think it still dangerous, what with the large group of monsters on your heels, but worry not...." she started, a benevolent smile on her beautiful face and warmth radiance oozing out of her perfect form as she slowly raised her hand, as if preparing to stop whatever monsters were chasing after them, only to stop there, now actually bewildered. There was not a single monster on their trail, worse still, she could not sense a single living creature within the camps premises, besides this particular party.
"How many of you came here to undertake this arduous task, if I may be so bold as to ask?" she turned back to Jack's group, her voice almost singing, her beautiful, blue eyes locked on Kenji, stunning the kid with her beauty. Luckily for him, even Kaede and the rest of Jack's party for that matter, the man himself excluded of course, though he acted as if he was the same, were all distracted, thus no one would fault Kenji for his answer as he was blasted with the full force of a lesser version divine charm of purity inclination.
"We leave as we came, seven in total."
Anastiela wanted to laugh and cry in equal measure, not quite sure how to interpret it. On the one hand, she would soon be greeting another group in a similar fashion, though loaded with incredible talent and promise, making much more sense about the whole result. Now though, a few rare classes with decent potential overall. And sure, Virtuosos were always like kings among within tutorial zones, but this was just a tad overboard.
Still, she was nothing if not experienced, even if this particular group seemed hell bent on breaking her rhythm, thus she proceeded as though nothing wrong had happened.
"Oh my, it seems I have underestimated your bravery and sheer will. Once more, I congratulate you. You are truly with blessed with the souls of heroes. It is my pleasure to stand before you and welcome you into our beautiful, if often cruel and perhaps even uncaring, world. Normally, I would offer you a small wish for task achieved through hard work and blood, but seeing as how few recipients there are, I believe a bit larger gift could be asked for. Do tell me, what is it that you might wish for? Maybe we could make it happen?"
"I do have an idea about a small gift we would appreciate." Jack spoke as soon as their group was given the chance, the rest immediately, without even discussing it amongst themselves agreed, asking Jack to speak for them all.
"I would ask that our group, the eight non combatants that are waiting for our return in the village included, be allowed to skip whatever welcoming or however else the event that will take place after we leave this zone is called and that our achievement is not broadcasted."
"Is your wish to remain unnoticed for a while longer then? You should understand it will not give you all that much time. No matter how, this group of yours have achieved an incredible feat and will, no doubt, continue to do so in the future. Why bother when the result will be the same?" she asked, slightly curious, without even the slightest hint of disgust of displeasure.
"It's the journey that will be different. much like death by a thousand cuts, we can reach further ahead if only we have that slight head start."
"I do not truly understand, I have to admit, but I can honour your whish nevertheless. So be it, your wish shall be granted. Return to the remaining half of your party and tomorrow you shall be granted your wish. However, if you encounter any trouble in the future, be sure to seek out any guild affiliated with the holy angels and ask for a meeting with Anastiela. Pleasure to meet your acquaintances." she smiled, once again mesmerizing the group "Our people would be more than happy to welcome you within our ranks."
She spoke and conjured a small token, handing it to Jack, explaining that said small item would serve as a token, a ticket of sorts to ensure she would be reached if they decide to act upon her suggestion, then just barely bowed her head in acknowledgement of their party and disappeared as she could already almost feel the calling of the next groups success.
Once the connection ended, she hummed and called some of her personal assistants to arrange for the request to be carried out, at the same time ordering a few more to pay extra attention to the group in question. She had this feeling they would stir up quite the ruckus where ever they would go, be it good or bad she did not know though.
------------------------------------------
"Would you look at that, you were correct." Fumiko smiled, though still tired, the few hour nap and quick snack they had before leaving the camp having returned a bit of spunk to the youngsters in question. "Was it just me or that pretty angel got confused and exasperated at least once. Just what did you do Jack?"
"Just what did 'WE' do, is what you meant, clearly." Jack shot back, walking as the vanguard of the group, allowing the rest of them to conserve energy and recover still. He was the only one with twenty something vitality here and would remain so for quite some time.
"But, if I were to guess, there were a couple of reasons. First of which would be the small number of our group and the lack of casualties among us. Then second would be the fact our weapons are of epic tier. That's about as much as I can come up with on the spot."
"Anything particular about her offer?" Izumi asked, having guessed that Jack had no intention to capitalise on it if at all possible.
"It's a good offer, no doubt, but as with all large organizations there would be, undoubtedly, plenty of corruption and other underhanded methods to squeeze us fry for all that we are worth. It seems like a much better choice, if riskier, to set out on your own and proceed from there."
"Figured as much." Izumi nodded in agreement, wholeheartedly agreeing with Jack's assessment and decision, a belief that was soon parroted by the rest of the party.
They encountered a single monster pack along the way back, one that Jack did not hesitate to slaughter on his lonesome, allowing his group to recover still, eventually reaching the village a couple hours after the sun had set.
"You are late." Alonso noted as they rolled inside the house, the girls dragging each other towards the bath instantly. Kaede shot Kenji an apologetic look as the group of five disappeared from their eyesight, ignoring the banter that was incoming,
"Well, " Jack drew his tongue, eventually giving up and admitting "I might have overworked them juuust a little bit too much. We did good today though, so much so that come morning we might already get out of this damned tutorial."
"SERIOUSLY!" the farmer squad exclaimed in surprise, a smile spreading across their eyes "So, what would we do once on the other side? We do kinda have the contract and all." Alonso then added.
"We are in a bit of a no money situation right now, but I do have an item or two to likely sell for quite the coin. With that starting capital we should be able to acquire a property of our own, no matter how modest, that we could then turn into the core of our would be territory, or a temporary one at the very least. And from there on out, it's as you must already suspect- you will get stuff to do that should not take all that much time of your day, allowing you to explore your newfound skills and mess around in the remaining time."
"What about you guys then?" Carla, who had just joined asked.
"The kids will be adventuring, or whatever they call it here and me, I will just mess around and craft more shit. Need to grow and ensure the kids are armed to the teeth so no stupid cunts get the drop on them."
"Did you know them from before? Seems like a strong attachment I sense."
"Heh, nothing like that actually. I came to like Kenji and Kaede- the two lovebirds are fun to watch and tease. They are well behaved and respectful too and have the best reactions. From there on out things just cascaded. I feel like I am the older brother and it is my job to not only protect them but also prepare for the cruel and uncaring world outside. I wonder is this how parents feel?" Jack replied and seemed to slink into a contemplative state.
"I do wonder too." Carla added, her yes darting back to where she came from.
"So, how's progress?" Jack asked after a moment of silence.
"It's there, though slow, but I expected as much. They talk little, but desperately cling to whatever chance of life they might still have. It will still take some time before they are ready to interact with anyone else though."
"Not a problem in that regard. Take all the time you need, though do try and figure a way we could travel for a bit. We will need to for a while before we find a place to settle. Can you do that?"
"I will figure something out." Carla replied.
Jack Raja(?)
Age- 27
Species- human(?)
Level- 14
Class- Twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(EX)
Stats unassigned: +5
Attributes:
Strength- 24 (14+7+3)
Vitality- 21 (12+7+2)
Dexterity- 21 (15+6)
Intelligence-7
Spirit- 25 (20+5)
Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX).
Spells- temporary spatial storage (shrinking)
Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. The actor. Executioner.
Gear: amulet +2 vit: weapon- Gundao+3 str.
