Chương 163: 160 - The Stage Is Set

"Well, I did find them," says Lauren.

"But there are a few complications."

"Like?" I ask.

"They're much more well-guarded than expected. The two hot zones are very close to each other, but they've grown tree walls all around them, and have multiple Named monsters patrolling the area. One of them has some kind of detection Skill. I got spotted almost immediately and had to run away. Stealth is off the table."

"Was it strong, though?"

"The one with the detection Skill was Sasha, the Sensitive, and she was level 3. The fact that I could see her level means she shouldn't be too powerful, but it looked to me like she was more of a watchdog than a combatant. The other one looked much stronger. I didn't see its Name or level, though, since I wasn't able to get close enough. Sasha looked like some variety of harpy with yellow feathers. The other was vaguely hippopotamus-like."

"So if stealth is off the table, then we're doing a direct assault?" asks A.

"Unless you can think of a way to hide all of us from them, yes," says Lauren.

"Well, that sounds simple enough," I say.

"So, tomorrow?"

"No," says B.

"The box isn't done yet," says A.

"Wasn't it supposed to be done today?"

"The wood is more difficult to work with than we anticipated."

"We should be done by tomorrow night."

"The day after tomorrow, then," I say. The twins both nod.

"Yona, you said you went out to gather information, right?" asks Lauren.

"I did say that."

"And? Did you find out when the paladins plan to assault Zorg."

"I did not," I say.

"But I did get–" I stop talking as something catches my attention on the other side of the room. The others look at me questioningly before turning to follow my gaze. Around the same time, there's a subtle shift in the room's atmosphere as conversations come to a stop, and everyone's eyes are drawn to a new group of people heading for a private booth in the back. In the front of the group walks Wesley, a Tier 6 paladin with an Epithet, but no one is looking at him.

They are instead looking at the one walking beside him. The balloon lady. She looks even more ridiculous than when I saw her in the Adventurer's Guild. At least back then, she was wearing some mage robes so her portions didn't look quite as exaggerated. Now, she's wearing a tight, form-fitting blue dress that leaves very, very little to the imagination.

Wesley seems unbothered by it all, but the paladins behind the paper are walking a few steps further back than they otherwise might, and are keeping their heads down as if they don't want people to associate them with her. Around the room, I see a couple people start whispering, and a few laughing. Just as with the Adventurer's Guild, though, the balloon lady doesn't seem to care. If anything, she almost looks pleased at all the attention she's getting. It's really hard to tell, though.

Her lips are so huge that she could either be smirking, or she just naturally looks like that. We all watch as she enters the private booth Wesley and disappears from sight.

"Okay, what the fuck was that," asks Lauren.

"I was actually just going to mention her," I say.

"I saw her at the Adventurer's Guild looking for a Quest. Looks like she's joining up with Wesley, I guess."

"Is there anything else we should know about her?" asks Lauren.

"No, she just looks funny. I think she's a water mage or something. I can't remember exactly what her Namecard said. Not really important, but pretty memorable."

"Right…" says Lauren, glancing back.

"Anyway, did you get any more useful information?"

"Yes, actually. So basically…" I launch into the story about what happened with Illiana. I leave out some minor parts, but I tell most of it basically exactly how it happened, from me running into Illiana when she was eating meat pies to entering the ruins to the escape of Metztli. I make sure that they are all aware of exactly how powerful the demon hand is, and what the cultists are doing with the frogs, but that's not actually the part Lauren latches onto.

"So this druid just happened to be waiting for you with delicious food that no one else can get, knew who you were when you met her later, invited you on a Quest that just happened to pay well, and while down there, you just happened to arrive right on time for the ritual to finish?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"I don't like it," says Lauren, crossing her arms.

"She's suspicious."

"Well, yeah, duh," I say.

"But I mean, she's not bad suspicious, right? She made me rich, helped capture the cultists, and made sure the Adventurer's Guild knew about the demon summoning thing they're trying to do. That's all pretty good, right? Maybe she's just trying to help."

"Maybe," says Lauren.

"But she's still suspicious. We're going to ask around about her tomorrow while the others are working."

"Okay."

"And we'll also need to ask about when Wesley's raid starts. We might need to rush there in the middle of the night if it starts too soon. We don't want to get caught up in it."

"Right."

"Okay, so…" For the next half hour or so, Lauren takes charge of the planning of the raid. She brings out the map that she had Wesley mark the other day, which now has a lot more marks on it. Her scouting was quite thorough, and she was able to get a much more detailed account of what's in Zorg's Territory. As far as she can tell, he has seven Named monsters working under him. One is Sebastien, the Swamp Butler, who we met the other day.

Two of them are the bird and the hippo that are guarding the frog hot zone, and the rest are spread out across the rest of the Territory. We should only need to deal with the two by the frogs. I eat while she talks, occasionally chiming in when she asks questions, but mostly just watching or spacing out. The overall plan is incredibly simple. We barge into the area with the frogs and demand that the Named guards surrender. If they do, great, if not, we fight them.

Once they're dealt with, or maybe even while they're being dealt with, if they're weak enough not to need me, I will start Snatching frogs by the half dozen and stuffing them in the box that Chad and the twins are making. That's it. That's the entire plan. But Lauren is making sure that we know everything, just in case things go wrong. A smart move, I guess, but it's kinda boring to listen to, and I'm sure Abby is paying enough attention for the both of us. This book was originally published on Royal Road.

Check it out there for the real experience. When she finishes, and we're all caught up on the plan, we settle into more normal conversation until we finish eating, then part ways back to our rooms. Sadly, there is no dryadil herb waiting for me under my pillow when I get back. It's very disappointing. I ask Dryadil for more, telling her she's pretty, and offering to pay her in Yona Lard™, but sadly, there is no response. The next day, as promised, Lauren and I go to the Adventurer's Guild and start asking around.

We don't find out much. Illiana is a mystery to most of the locals too. She lives somewhere out in the swamp, and shows up every once in a while to do a few Quests or make friends, then disappears again. There were some rumors that she's actually a Hermit living in the area who finds humans interesting, which I think would make sense.

Lauren actually really likes that theory, saying that maybe she's an older Hermit who's upset about what Zorg and the cultists are doing, and wants to make sure they get stopped, despite not being able to get too close on her own. As for when Wesley is leaving, there is nothing but rumors. None of the people who signed up to join him are able to say anything, since they apparently signed a contract of secrecy.

Based on the way they're preparing, some non-contracted Adventurers speculate that it'll be within a day or two, but no one knows for certain. One very interesting tidbit we hear, though, is that Jane herself will be joining the raid. She wasn't originally going to, but after the cultist incident, she decided that she wanted to get personally involved, in hopes that there would be a "worthy opponent" or something like that. As creepy as that lady is, I'm actually really curious to see her in action.

I feel like if she spends so long in that weird combat form and claims that it's perfectly optimized, it's gotta be impressive, right? That's probably not in the cards, though. Even if we get the frogs safely and get out, getting close enough to the battle that I can see Jane in action is probably not a good idea. Not when the paladins are actively hunting Chosen One Candidates.

After getting our information, we go shopping, spending a good portion of my new fortune on some very fancy herbs, spices, and other ingredients. Despite how huge of a sum 200, 000 gold seemed, we manage to spend a whole 60, 000 in that one outing. That one outing gives us enough ingredients to make high quality food for another year, but still, if I want other luxuries, like clothes and booze, this is not going to last. Especially not in Ocula, where apparently there are even more expensive shops.

Chad and the twins finish their box a little after dinner time, so Lauren and I join them for second dinner where we finalize our plans. Knowing that Wesley and his raid group could be leaving tomorrow makes us all agree that we need to move out that night. After eating, the box makers and I lay down for a quick nap to make sure we're all refreshed, and around ten in the evening, we set out for Zorg's Territory.

Michael stole a glance over at the oddly-proportioned woman who was chatting with a man whose eyes couldn't seem to stay facing forward. It was late at night, but the root they had chosen to meet on was well illuminated enough that there could be no missing her.

"Damn, how did we get stuck with her?" he moaned.

"Hey, that's not nice," said Lana, as she checked the straps of her armor.

"Have you even met her?"

"I mean, he's got a point," said Otto, twirling a knife on his finger.

"Of all the groups that pervy weirdo could have gotten in, she had to be stuck with us."

"How do you know she's pervy?" asked Lana. Otto, Michael, and their other two party members, James and Clara, all gave her an exasperated look.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," said Lana.

"We just have to do our job, and she'll do hers, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to get a hold of one of those Soul Weapons!"

"Would be easier without an extra tagalong…" muttered Otto. No one argued with that. Leader type Named monsters were a catastrophe when left unchecked… but when it was time to check them, there was no better place to be than the raid group. Unlike raids on Disasters or Hermits, where there was more risk than reward, Leaders were veritable gold mines. Named monsters and Soul Weapons were generally hard to come by, but Leaders could create other Named, and therefore other Soul Weapons.

The last Leader who had been allowed to grow powerful in Elyria had created more than two dozen subordinates, and the raid group had been absolutely enormous with how many people wanted to get their hands on them. Michael's group was no different. One Soul Weapon could set the entire Party up for life if they sold it. Or it could turn one of them into a powerhouse of an Adventurer if it was the right weapon.

None of them had brought up that possibility, since they were technically working as a Party, but all of them knew that if they found something compatible, selling it would be off the table, and they would deal with the fallout of claiming it after the fact. Wesley's intel said that there should have been a total of ten Named monsters, including the Leader himself, and then on top of that, two more Named would be coming in from the outside to get involved.

That meant an even dozen Soul Weapons would be up for grabs, but with the emergency nature of the Quest, only about fifty Adventurers had been available to join the group. That meant almost a one in four chance of getting one. And everyone in the group knew it.

"Looking at her makes me sick," said Clara, shooting a disgusted look over at the strange woman.

"Yeah…" said Michael.

"There's no way she actually thinks it looks good, right?"

"I'm not so sure about that," said Clara.

"Look at the way she's flaunting it to that guy."

"Guysss," said Lana.

"Would you rather her, or Jane?" asked James.

"Bro, what?" asked Michael.

"Jane," said Otto at the exact same time.

"All day. Intimidation form, specifically." The rest of the Party looked at him.

"What the fuck, man?" asked Michael.

"I said what I said," said Otto, looking smug.

"I think I agree," said James.

"But do you ever wonder if Jane has a form for–?"

"Stop!" said Lana.

"Oh, she absolutely does," said Clara, nodding.

"I've even heard rumors that–""Ohmygosh, guys!" said Lana.

"You guys are so weird!"

"Hold on Lana, hear me out," said James.

"Think about it this way: imagine–""Alright, everyone, gear up! We move in five minutes!" said a voice, cutting through the conversation and silencing the entire raid group. Michael breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and joined his Party as they made their way toward where the paladins were lining everyone up by group. James was still whispering something in Lana's ear that made the tank's face flush, but Michael could no longer hear it, which he was grateful for.

If I get one of those Soul Weapons, I am leaving this Party immediately. Mac hummed softly to himself as he followed his group through the swamp. He had scouted his Target's Territory himself earlier, but found it a little more well-guarded than he cared to deal with on his own. He figured he probably could have done it on his own if he really had to, but if there was already a group preparing to do the hard work for him, why wouldn't he take advantage of it? Work smarter, not harder, that's what Ma always said.

Altair perched on one of Dryadil's lowest branch, still kilometers off the ground, and peered down toward where the First Event was telling him his Target was. Mac was moving in a group with a bunch of other Adventurers at the moment. It definitely wasn't safe to attack yet, since there was a fucker with an Epithet in the lead, but it would come. He knew it would. Hurry up and split off, fucker. You'd better not make me wait or else–"Beautful view, isn't it?"

"What the f–!" said Altair, scrambling further down the branch away from the voice. He looked over, half-panicked, and saw a woman sitting on the branch right beside where he had been perched, feet dangling below her. The first thing he noticed about her was that she was stunning. A lot of women in this world were, but there was somehow something special about this one. The second thing he noticed about her was that he hadn't noticed her until the moment she spoke. No one had ever snuck up on him like that before.

And the third thing he noticed was that she didn't have a Namecard.

"Wh– who the fuck are you?" he asked.

"Me?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Just someone who enjoys watching things."

"You'd better not fuck with me," said Altair.

"I'll fuck you up."

"Oh, will you?" she said, looking up with a smirk.

"Go on, then." A chill ran down Altair's spine, and his feathers stood on end. Despite what he said, he knew that trying anything would be a bad idea. He had no idea why, though. He couldn't sense anything from her. Why doesn't she have a Namecard? Is she an illusion? Is she hiding it? Is she–? At that moment, something in his periphery caught his attention, and his gaze shot upward. High in the sky above the treetop and somehow visible through the foliage was a Namecard larger than any Altair had ever seen.

On it was only a single word. No Class, no Profession, no Epithet, no Name… Not even a level. Just one, single word. [Dryadil]"Well?" asked the woman. Altair looked back down at her. He was definitely focusing on her as he tried to pull her Namecard up, but only the one on top of the tree appeared.

"I… I changed my mind," he said.

"A shame," she said, looking back down below.

"Well, you're welcome to stay and watch, if you'd like. I always welcome company. Though I suspect that you have a role of your own to play tonight." Altair did not respond.

"Well, whatever you do, I'm sure that this will be a wonderful show."