Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild Receptionist Table

Put the table back
*Smiles*

 

@shad12ow: rank up quest completed. I think I spread enough chaos in the west...

Spoiler: A rank quest

For @Aca1814ina
#RA1 - B Rank - Aca1814ina Quest [0 G | Ranked Up to A Rank]
The success of our guild, our influence on the city, and our effort to build relation with the other race has made our name spread more than we expected. With that, we have found troubling rumor from the Holy Empire on the west. Influenced by the human supremacy faction of the human, it seems like they want to interfere with our work. We also heard rumor that the demon nation might attack the empire too. This might agitated them more and risked them forcing us to help them defend their empire. The guild want to stay neutral at this point, but that may change in the future. There have also been rumor that each them possess sacred item that can destroy the other nation.
So @Aca1814ina , this is your task:
- Investigate the true rumor of the empire's real condition.
- Find their current plan with our guild and the surrounding area
- If they are trying to interfere, cripple their force so that they can't do it any time soon but not to the extent of them unable to defend themselves
- Investigate the Holy Empire's rumored sacred item. If you deem it dangerous, steal it and give it to the guild. We'll seal it.
- Investigate the demon nation movement and their intention toward the Holy Empire
- Investigate the demon nation's rumored sacred item. If you deem it dangerous, steal it and give it to the guild. We'll seal it.
Limitation in this quest:
- You have to use exactly 3 days(game days) to finish your task. You are not permitted to come back to the city before you finish the whole quest
- You must not create too much destruction.
- You must not reveal your real identity and your connection with the guild
The night after my fury burned half a world, I had a nightmare. I woke curled in a ball, my wings wrapped around me and my limbs still trembling with the memory of what my subconscious had imagined. Or more specifically, remembered.
What brought me so much fear and pain in the nightmare was not something that did not or had never existed, after all.
I remembered it pretty clearly, as I do with everything I dream. It was something un-perceivable, unseen and undetected, which had pursued me through a darkened labyrinth of magic and technology which all seemed to want to kill me. My wings were useless, my powers rendered completely inoperable, even my strength was barely enough to keep me moving forward. In the end, it caught me and cast me into darkness. At that point I woke up.
Shaking my head to clear it, I grabbed a violet robe from my closet and walked through my lair to the exit. As I had de countless times before, I left from the peak and dove straight through the atmosphere, kilometer after kilometer of essentially free fall that I simply steered towards my destination. Dragon wings curled around me body beneath the robe forming a slender silver armor, and my black wing stayed tight against my back except when it tilted to steer. High above I extended it to turn my dive into a circle around the city below, as I had done at first. I slowly lowered myself to the ground from there.
The quest board seemed to be active again... Perhaps some new quests had finally been posted? Not like it matters... The current set has been pretty boring for the past few days anyway. But to my surprise, what had been added was the rank up quest I had been promised some time ago. Better late than never, but someone's still getting burned for this.
It was excessively convoluted, with innumerable requirements which seemed simple enough. So it is required to investigate the Holy Empire of Man and the United Nation of Demons, eh? Tough I do have to say it is poorly worded. 'If I deem it dangerous...' Children, nothing on this world, in this universe, or from your highest heavens or deepest hells qualifies as 'dangerous' in my mind. Irritating? Yes. Troublesome? Most certainly. But dangerous? Danger, which implies threat, which implies capability to harm? I only need 3 digits to enumerate every single thing in all existence which has the capability to truly harm me.
Yeah, it's not going to be 'dangerous' in any way. Which doesn't mean I won't steal them. I just won't give them to a guild which probably thinks sealing them is a good idea. They'll be much safer in my lair, and I'll be slightly richer. Win win, no?
However, half of this investigation is already done. The Demon Nations intentions? The Holy Empire's plans? That's kind of obvious.
I've been watching this world from orbit for a while now. You can learn almost everything you need to know from the movements of supplies, soldiers, and people near the frontier, none of which is hidden from observers so far above. Further, with the Heroes being summoned by the Empire, the persisting magic power matching that of a mid rank Devil coming from the Nations, the legions of recruiters, spies, and 'common folk' of the human race entering this city, and the fact that demons and humans are killing each other on sight in once peacefully coexisting border villages, I don't think I really need to go there to investigate. It's obvious.

But what the hell, I need a break. Taking the piece of paper, I leap into the sky and set off westwards, and a bit south, towards my favorite beaches. Where I take a quick dip to swim, reconfigure my robes to hide my wings when I need them too, and then ponder for a minute before deciding on a quicker plan of action. Moving slightly westwards, I grab the nearest white robed imbecile I could find and tie him to a tree. Then I take his holy book and start pretending to read.

Spoiler: Angel of Mischief

He cracks before very long. "What... What are you doing?"
I laughter slightly inside. This is going to be too easy. "I am seeking to learn more about... Luminous." Wow... Stupidest name for a god I've ever heard of. Fortunate that it was on the title page, under "Holy Book of the Worship of Luminous", or I may never have found it.
"Dear child, I am grateful that you seek to know more, but this is not the proper path." He says, suddenly regaining is calm. He is still a bit suspicious, but as Demons can't say the gods name (according to page 4, section 8) he now is sure I am human. I'm a bit doubtful of that fact, to be honest. Oh wait, it goes on to add "... Without great feelings of disgust." Yep, that makes more sense.
"Then can you teach me, father?" I ask him in my cutest and most appealing voice. It doesn't actually take that much, but I overdo it so he thinks I'm trying to suck up to him. Which makes priests do one of two things: get irritated and kick you out, or..."
"Of course, child. You see, Luminous is the eternal being born from the origin..."
Go on and on and on in an attempt to bore you. In other words, including every last scrap of detail they think you won't care about in the slightest. Which means I simply have to perk up at the action sequences and morals to make him drone on more about other things, such as, say, appearance.

An hour later he gets where I want him to and spends a long, long time describing the appearance of Luminous and his highest Angels. One of them is female, which I make a disgusted look to so that he begins to describe her more and more. Childish, innocent, glowing wings reaching to the heavens, a halo of pure white...

Perfect.

I concentrate on my body and shift to my third set of wings. The priest can't see me due to the illusion barrier I put up as soon as they come out. Magic, a power I so rarely use, fills these wings to the brim, making them glow with an ethereal and spiritual light. They are translucent, lengthy, and thin, looking like nothing more than glowing vines extending from my body except for the tamper which makes them thicker at the base and thinner at the end. These are the wings of an elemental of the highest order, a divine spirit. They are the wings of a true God. And there are thousands of them.

So all it takes is the dimming of a few, the darker colors, into invisibility and the brightening of the rest, golds and silvers, into a white brilliance, as well as spinning one into a halo above my head, coloring my robes white with magic, and starting my hair glowing white, and I look exactly like the angel he was speaking of. I dissolve the illusion in a flash of blinding whiteness, and simultaneously free the gasps in awe and kneels.

"Divine Astraea, How may this lowly one serve you?" He chokes out while kneeling, proving that my disguise is a success. Even if the priest is low ranking, I can alter the mental states of a few if I can simply pass with the masses. And a major disadvantage of all organized religions is that their secrets are always relegated to a select few.
"You nearly gave away divine secrets to a demon, my servant. The Lords blessings must be upon you that I had already descended and prevented it." I speak in a childish, but still solemn, voice as he had described. He starts kowtowing even harder, but I lift his chin and bid him to rise as I float in the air in front of him.
"All men sin. You must beg forgiveness for them all, let not one more overtake the others. Now, I must reach the capital." I say, being both merciful and firm with him. I rise into the sky and shoot off towards the Holy capital in a burst of light, the priest standing shakily behind me.

Once I reach it, I descend openly and proudly in my divine body. As expected, this is extremely rare because even the high priests are gaping as I hover in the main square of the city. Taking advantage of the confusion, I imbue my invisible wings with a special form of magic and run them though the heads of the people around me, searching for doubt or hostility. I find several undercover demons, from whom I extract the location of the demon capital and a few choice bits of information, criminals who are exceptionally displeased that their God has chosen to interfere from whom I grab even more juicy pieces of information, as well as atheists rapidly becoming believers among the humans and charlatans furious I have interrupted their trade, but no priests who see through my disguise. Perfect, but not unexpected.

"Children, my Lord has sent me with a decree." I speak in a perfectly modulated voice containing innocence, vast age and experience, and divine authority few can resist. While I have the information, why not make a few alterations in the script.
"You must destroy the demon nations from his world, and bring the cleansing fire to the west. Enlightenment must flow, His holy word must spread, and the light must vanquish evil. Cease your petty squabbles with the east; when the west is yours, the elves and Beastmen will fall in line and come to the worship of Luminous as well. All will be united in the eyes of our lord, as he wills it."
As I speak I see very well dressed individual approaching from a massive palace in the city. They seem furious... I run my tendrils through their minds and determine they are the emperor and popes of the Holy Empire. Even so, they all believe I am who I appear to be. They are just a bit annoyed I did not decide to speak with them alone, but also are confirming suspicions they have that Astraea is an angel with no caring for hierarchy or rules other than the Worship of Luminous. I knew I chose well.

As I finish, having obtained half of what I wanted, I start to rise again to ensure that I get the rest. As expected, the popes and emperor all abandon dignity and start crying out in panic.
"Wait! Divine Astraea, will you not give us a moment of your time?"
At their pleadings, I stop my ascent and look thoughtful. Another characteristic of this angel is mischievousness... Getting better and better. After a second I snap my fingers and lift my hand, twirling my sings around me.
"Oh right, My Lord did tell me to replace the True Holy Sword... It needs to bask in his presence a bit longer. So yeah, I'll need to grab that..." I say in a quieter voice that still reaches everyone in the courtyard, drawing a few laughs which immediate receive takes from the priests and earns me a few exasperated looks from those in authority. The Emperor goes pale as I mention the true holy sword.
"Divine one, we need that for the a True Hero to use against the Demon King... Unless Divine Astraea herself participates, it will be impossible to fulfill the Lords command without it." He says sweating profusely. From his mind I gather that it's the only thing that still lets him control the heroes and the church. I laugh lightly and wave my hand as numerous swords of light fall around him.
"Hee hee... Of course I know that silly! That's why I brought replacements. Go use those to conquer the demons! Oh, and bring me the True Holy Sword!"
Lacking any excuse, the Emperor grabs his Knights and orders one to go get the true holy sword while the rest move subtly into position to grab the light swords I have scattered across the ground. They're made of pure light mana and will cut through basically anything, but will only last about a week. That's long enough for me to copy the Holy Sword and return it, though. With a few extra modifications included.
The fight to the death over these swords, and thereby power over the heroes, seems like it will be quite amusing though. Too bad I can't watch openly.

Within a minute the Holy sword has been brought, the popes hair is now pink, the emperor has a pompadour, and all the cities swords are balloon animals while all the gold and copper coins are flying around in circles trying to mate with the silver. Just keeping up the title of mischief, don't mind me. The Emperor seems actually happy to hand it over if it will get me out of his city. I'm tempted to stay a while just to see his face but I nod gratitude and ascend to a point high above where I make a giant flash of light and turn myself invisible.

The chaos starts instantly. As the coins settle to the ground balloon animals are drawn and slammed into metal armor and spikes fro predictable results. The faces... Oh god the faces! These this on knight holding the tail of a dog while its head is repeatedly bouncing on a temple soldiers face. Both are dumbfounded, staring at the animal, then each other, then the animal before pulling out their side daggers and popping a water balloon in each other's face. Dripping wet, they look up and the sky, down and the light sword between them, and decide to sit down and start praying. While keeping a very close eye on each other to make sure neither moves any closer to the glowing sword.

Priests are casting spells of light which I have subtly changed into fireworks (without the heat), while the nobility is trying to figure out how to untie their wives hair from the nearest street post. The chaos spreads to the walls and army barracks, where everyone starts running towards the plaza with swords of light in it, balloon animals in hand. Balloon shields, balloon swords, balloon armor, and constant popping sounds as someone trips on a nail or runs into a splintered door. There are tears, gales of laughter, red faced officers screaming at the top of their lungs to charge with balloon piles held high, horses running every which way as the popping sounds spook them, and overall total and complete disarray. If this doesn't delay their plans for a really, really long time as they try to restore dignity, I don't know what will. Still laughing internally, I start my journey further west to visit the demons.

Tasks completed: Empire condition determined: preparing for war with west, now by divine command.
Plans for guild (and entire east): conversion and draft, now on hold by divine command.
Forces: balloon animal armed soldiers trying their very best to defeat sparkly light priests.
Sacred item: not dangerous at all. But still going into my collection.

Spoiler: Demon King

As I fly west I read a book I took from one of the demon spies during the confusion which talks about the demon God Black.

I'm not kidding. That's literally the name they chose. For a god that probably doesn't exist, according to Lucifer.

Anyway, he's essentially the same as the God Luminous except his female servants are temptresses. So the same trick isn't going to work on them as it did on the Holy Empire.
Well, that's just fine. Demons respect one thing and one thing only, strength. And I have that in limitless quantities.
I keep my elemental wings but morph them into the red leathery form of an Archdevil, replacing my Halo with horns and my white robes with a red bondage outfit. Magic sure is convenient. Especially when it's not your own....

Elementals all have the power to use the magic of others in their vicinity, so I'm stealing the magic of every other being on this world. Which gives me all their skills, abilities, talents, and essences in reduced efficiency format. Sounds nice, but it's often as troublesome as a photographic memory: too much information takes so long to sort through that it's just as bad for quick decisions as too little. Fortunately I knew what power I wanted to use at the start: the remnants of the Deceiver in the City of Dreams. It's perfect for my current mission. Otherwise it would have taken me hours just to cast a single spell from the list of available abilities. As with everything, there are pros and cons. And because I'm impatient, I hate using this power too often.

I reach the demon capital in an instant and crash through the ceiling of the council, confronting the Demon King head on. While the surrounding Lords and other advisers rise in fury and prepare to attack, he recognizes this form and pales slightly, before grabbing his greatsword and jumping at me in anger.
"Who are you to cloak yourself in illusion?" He asks furiously. I coldly laugh and grab the greatsword out of his hands, melting it with the dark flames I make appear.

"Illusion? I am a messenger of the Devil, a Duke of Superbia. How dare a mere knight talk to me like that?" The reaction is instant and effective. He staggers backwards, feeling the terrible aura which is so much stronger than him that he does believe it to be a Duke ranked Devil of the Underworld. It actually is about the same level of strength... I'm holding back quite a bit.

"Wha..wha... What do you want?" He stammers out as the other demons are crushed by the force of my aura, struggling to stand or crawling away in fear. I continue to laugh coldly.

"An Angel descended in that accursed human realm and ordered them to attack the east once they finished with you," I say, exaggerating slightly but close enough to what was said that the spies will confirm it. I love playing both sides of the board. It guarantees you'll lose. "That would be an unnecessary annoyance. We will not take the chance of the Liches or Vampires who were once of that race using them against us. You are ordered to destroy them, unless you want to know what true suffering is." I command the demons. It's essentially what they planned already, but now they too will be too busy obeying a higher power to look at other areas to attack.

I then wave my hand and the crown the demon king is wearing flies to my grasp. The other relic of the west, it has greater defensive power than the true holy sword but less destructive force. It's not dangerous in the slightest, and is actually kind of ugly. Even so, I'm taking it. This one I don't have to give a copy back. I replace it with nine black blades and nine similarly colored rings, all of which glow with an ominous aura.

"These will give you power, different from that of this useless shell. Use it to break mankind." I order. They sense the items and flinch. Each is imbued with the power of a berserker, mindless and destructive. Further, I see eight high ranking demon lords looking hungrily at them, and the demon king seeming to be very worried about something other than me. Darkness consumes me as I turn invisible, then leave to the sounds of "so, how should we divide these." Followed by a roar of "attack!" from the room. Good to know both sides have internal issues to work out while they march against each other.

Results: demon intentions: attack the Holy Empire, now with fear of eternal suffering.
Demon King's sacred crown: not dangerous at all. I just 'hid' it to make sure the demons would have some internal conflict as well. (And into the hoard it goes)

I take my leisurely time returning to the city, stopping for a long swim in the Blue Lagoon before I do. I finished everything in a day, but my vacation takes two more to return me on the eve of the third.

S rank now, please.

 

I am still in progress of completing the story... i was actually supposed to only post it when both quests were done, and then i would tag you

 

@shad12ow here's part one of the promotion quest

Spoiler: Tengu Tribes in Sky Island

Finally, my promotion quest has arrived. Hmm, the Tengu Tribes in the south part of the East Barrier Mountains and the Traveling Fortress in the south part of the Unknown Lands.... Seems I have to find our more about these two locations and then get permission to place beacons for easy locating. Once I finished preparing by buying necessities at the Tavern, I immediately set out towards the Tengu Tribes. Initially, I want to call Blackie, but he has busied himself with training and previous quests, so I decided to let him rest for a few days. I journeyed southeast towards the villages in the south part of the East Barrier Mountains, meeting some monsters along the way - but nothing I can't beat. After a few hours of constant-paced walking, I arrived at the south part of the East Barrier Mountains. I decided to sit down and refuel my hunger and stamina. I took out a loaf of bread and some roast chicken. In addition, I also took out my newly concocted Rhino-Bear Blood Wine - an alcohol made from rice wine and a condensed mixture of Rhino blood and Giant Bear blood. This new blood wine provides good stamina/vitality/strength/defense boosting effects.

While I was eating, I occasionally stop all movements in order to hear for any unusual sounds. After all, this is the East Barrier Mountains...who knows what kind of creature will come and attack me while my guard is down. Suddenly, I hear a scream and then some fighting. Looking around for the source of the sound, I turned and see smoke in the distance. If I remember correctly from last time I was here, there is a small village in that location. I quickly packed up my stuff and hurried over to the village. When I arrived at the village, I see bandits...but they were all defeated. Looking around, I see a Tengu who was taking care of some wounded villagers. Upon closer look I remember who he was. This Tengu was sitting next to Xeck Qoju last time I was at Sky Island...what was his name again?...ah...Votak Oren.

"Hey, Votak! Long time no see." I greeted.

Votak turns around and sees me. With a smile, he greeted back. "Long time no see Khaos. What brings you here?"

"I have some business with Xeck Qoju. Do you think I can meet him?"

"Hmm, probably. He's not entirely busy these days...though he is preparing for marriage soon."

"Oh really? Who is the lucky woman?"

"A human...unfortunately and a villager at that." Votak sighed, "Oh, not to be mean, but we're afraid that Xeck's pure bloodline will be tainted with the union of human blood."

"I see...but human blood may be considered as inferior with higher races like your Tengu race. So it might not affect the purity of Xeck's bloodline." I assured. How I know this? Well, I do have years of blood research under my belt...I mean how else can I have such high mastery of blood manipulation and blood refinement?

"Really? I'm happy with Xeck's choice but some elders are not. Do you have a way to proof that the bloodline won't be tainted with human blood?"

"Naturally."

"In that case, follow me. I'll bring you to see Xeck immediately." Votak beamed happily as he reached and grabbed me. Then, we flew upwards towards Sky Island.

Once we arrived, I was impressed at the changes the Tengus were doing for the wedding. It seems they will be doing a traditional Eastern-style wedding. There were red decorations everywhere. When we entered the main hall, I see Xeck talking with a human woman. Xeck was smiling way more than ever and he would sometimes tell jokes...JOKES!...Xeck telling jokes sure I can understand, but for a woman to actually laugh at his jokes is something even I find astonishing.

When I arrived, Xeck looks up and exclaimed, "Khaos! Nice to see you. What brings you here?"

"Business as usual, but first let me congratulate you of your engagement." I replied.

"Thank you. Oh this is my beloved, Sakura." Xeck introduced. Now as a villager, the woman does not have a last name - only nobles and distinguished people have last names.

"Congratulations Sakura, you are a lucky woman."

"Thank you." Sakura said. "I see you have some business with Xeck. So, I won't disturb you."

Once Sakura left, Xeck turned and look at me. "So, what brings you here? What business are we talking about?"

"Trading business of course. What type of things will you offer and what type of things are you in need of?"

"Oh, that eh? Hmmm, let me think." Xeck mused for a while, "What we need are medicine and vegetables. Ores, crystals, and raw metals are needed as well. Oh and heat-generating items or warm clothes would be appreciated. It gets quite cold up here sometimes...I don't want Sakura to get sick."

"Medicine, vegetables, ores, crystals, raw metals, clothing, and heat-generating item...ok got it. Now what are you able to offer?"

"We can offer talismans (enhancements, evil-warding, luck, etc), weapons (bastard swords, daggers, elven curve blades and katanas, falchions, greatswords, kukris, longswords, punching daggers, rapiers, scimitars, short swords, and two-bladed swords), potions (healing, replenishment, antidotes, etc), and wind-type magical fans."

"Hmm, okay. I'll report this back to the guild. Oh, by the way, can I place beacons on Sky Island so that we can find you better?"

"That would be a problem. We don't want to be found so easily. It's against the rules of our tradition."

"Well, rules are meant to be broken. From what I heard, you broke one recently when you fell in love with Sakura."

"Yea...it caused a huge uproar within the tribes. The elders weren't happy with my actions."

"What's wrong with marrying outside your species?"

"They're afraid for the purity of my bloodline. They did not like how the humans betrayed us in the past so now they did not like the idea that humans will taint the purity of my bloodline." Xeck sighed.

"The Tengu's past? Can you tell me more about it?" I asked. Xeck looked at me for a moment before nodding. Then, he proceeded to tell me the origins and history of the Tengu tribes.

"My Tengu tribe has existed for thousands of years but our ancestors came from another place - a stronger race existing for millions upon millions of years." Xeck began, "Our ancestors were deities of a higher realm of existence. You can already tell but my Tengu tribe consists of two distinct types of Tengus - the Karasu-Tengus (identified with bird's head and beak) and the Konoha-Tengus (humanoids with wings and long nose). The Karasu-Tengus descendant from the Devourer - Karu - who served as a loyal of retainer of Saruta - the long-nosed Earth god. Saruta's role was to guide deities from the higher realm to the lower realm and guards the portal that makes this happen. In the past, Saruta and Karura were worshipped as kind deities. Karu was not only known to eat dragons for breakfast but was known to protect children and bestow wisdom. Saruta was also known for protecting humans. However, because they were worshipped more by the humans of the lower realm, the other deities became jealous and they decided to frame Saruta and Karu. They spread lies about how the descendants of Saruta and Karu were evil, mischievous beings who abduct children, burn buildings, steal, kill, and trick the lower realms. Through connections with the higher ups, the jealous deities were able to convince the higher ups to pin a huge punishment to Saruta family and Karu family. They were given a choice - kill their descendants to escape punishment because of past notable achievements or be banished to the lower realms together with their descendants. Saruta and Karu did not want to kill off their innocent descendants so they agree to be banished to the lower realms. So, the higher ups decided on the verdict and destroyed their immortality and forcing them and their families be exiled to the lower realm. Initially, our Tengu name meant Heavenly Patriots but now its been referred as Heavenly Dogs (used as an insult)."

"Wow, that's harsh." I said.

"Yes it was. Now, even though many years have passed, we are still trying to fix the false rumors about us."

"So why do you not live in the mountains with the villagers? Why insist on staying on this Sky Island?"

"In the past, the humans were frightened by our appearances and the rumors about us. They did not trust us even though we helped them so much before the rumors started...it was like we were betrayed. So, to avoid this problem, the first Tengus used most of their innate magic to lift a plot of land up to the sky thus forming the Sky Island. We have been living on the Sky Island for so long, its become our home. It would seem awkward to live on the grounds below now."

While we were still conversing, another Konoha-Tengu barges in. "Your Leadership, I advise you again. You cannot marry that human. We can't destroy the purity of your bloodline."

"Elder Oro Krulu! Why do you continue to persist about this matter? What can I do to convince you?" Xeck grimaced as he looked at the Tengu.

"If I may, I know of way to convince him as well as any other Tengus who do not approve of your marriage choice." I replied.

"Really? Then, please do so."

Xeck told Oro to call all the other elders to come to the main hall. He also told a guard to notify Sakura to come as well. When everyone arrived, I started my explanation. I told them that when dealing with bloodlines. It is preferable to have a pure mutual union of the blood of husband and wife usually acquired when the husband and wife are from the same race. It is also commonly believed that the union of the blood of husband and wife of different species could taint the purity of the bloodline. However, I stressed that that was not necessarily the case. I described to the audience that humans' blood is considered very inferior compared to higher races like Tengus. The union of blood of Tengu and human won't affect the Tengu bloodline because of the inferiority of human blood.

At first the elders did not believe, so I offered to do an experiment. Xeck and Sakura agreed and willingly gave a few drops of their blood - blue blood of Tengus and red blood of humans. Using blood manipulation, I merged the two types of blood. After fusing the blood, instead of producing a purplish mixture, the red dissipated after a while and the mixture became blue.

"There it is. The two blood types merged but the red blood of Sakura was overpowered and dissipated by the blue blood of Xeck. This means that the children of Xeck and Sakura will continue to have pure bloodlines." I replied.

As the saying goes - seeing is believing. After the elders saw blue and red blood mixture become blue again, they finally approve of Xeck's and Sakura's marriage. Xeck was happy with my help that he gave me permission to place beacons on the Sky Island. After celebrating the marriage between Xeck and Sakura, I placed the three beacons at three different locations of the Sky Island. I told Xeck that the beacons are sensitive to the interference of magic and asked him to help with that problem. Xeck wrote a few talismans and placed on the beacons which helped protect the beacons from magic interference.

Finished, I left Sky Island and descended down to the mountains.

 

Well...next time, be sure to post only the completed one. Or if you want to do it in part, be sure to write that. For now, I'll delete my appraisal post. Be sure to tag me when you're done.

 

"Ugh....I...you never failed to give me a raging headache. I will not comment on your decision to keep the relic to yourself. Not like it is any more dangerous compared to your power. I will let that slide. And the whole shenanigan with the Holy Empire I will let that slide. In fact, I will praise you for that. Honestly, I was tempted to issued an all out destruction task for that place, but they still have innocent people. For now. In the future, I doubt that. And now...for the demon nation. Now with this, they will probably charge the empire, right? I...no, nothing. Let's just hope that the trouble will not spread here. That's all. You didn't create destruction as stated. Good. Their dignity is another matter I could really care less. Actually, I think they need to have that kind of 'event' once in a while. You also didn't unveil your relation with the guild. Good. Congratulation. With this you have officially become A-Ranked member of the guild. Once again, congratulation."
OOC: For the S rank, wait a bit more, okay? I'm still making the quest line and also the prerequisite for those.

 

Quests taken:
#SB4 - B rank - Slay 3 Poison Maggots. [ 350 G ]
#SB6 - B rank - Sink 1 Pirate ship [ 350 G ]
#SA1 - A rank - Slay 1 Queen Insect [ 450 G ]
#SA2 - A rank - Slay 1 Sea Serpent [ 400 G ]
#SA4 - A rank - Slay 1 Roc [ 450 G ]

Spoiler: My Vacation

I open my vacation after I finish grabbing the relics of the human Holy Empire and the Demon Nations. I hold them both up next to each other and feel the insistent vibrations as they try to fight. Interesting... A low level consciousness in both, forcing them to consistently fight each other. It might be the root of the conflict between humans and demons... Or a result of generations of hostile parties from both sides holding these articles and imbuing them with portions of their will and soul. The result is the same either way so I don't particularly care.

I am floating face up in the Blue lagoon, enjoying the tropical sunlight and rhythmic waves running over my body. I regained control over my wings, so only that silver pair are out, tightly bound to my body and making me appear completely human to any outside observers. Pale white skin with a few light pink regions sparkles with drops of water due to the lack of clothes or coverings on me. Silvery hair fans out behind my head and slender legs sway in the water to complete the image if a human child swimming peacefully in the lagoon.

Except for the white arms holding a white glowing broadsword and a twisted black crown above to compare them. That kind of ruins it.

And the burning ship behind me. With bodies bleeding into the water being fed on by sharks that conspicuously avoiding the area I am floating in. And fragments of wood bobbing in the water. With more dead bodies on them.

Yeah... It's not very paradise like with a burning ship ruining the picturesque scene of smooth water and a clear horizon. Sighing, I turn over and shift my body vertically. Taking a deep breath and stirring the gasses in my stomach, I spit a ball of condensed hydrogen slowly igniting with oxygen gas and watch as a thermonuclear fireball blasts the ship into splinters. There, now the pirate ship is sunk.

But now the water is shaking from the force of the explosion, steam is covering the tropical bay, and splinters are raining down on the beach turning the pure white sand a diary light brown. Signing, I extend my wings slightly and beat them to rise out of the water. It seems my vacation is not getting off to the best of starts. Ah well...

I fly east along the coast. Sadly, the coast is mostly lined by annoying grasses, rocks, or seaweed, none of which are pleasant sunning terrain. Annoyed, I turn north and head deeper into the sandy desert. At least I'll have a good sunning spot there, if not the ocean breeze and cool waters of the beach.



Soon I found a good spot, a large rock covered in a nice amount of sand which was well ground and very soft. And so, so very warm. So I laid down on my stomach and spread my wings out to absorb as much sun as possible, as well as my hips and shoulders and the soles of my feet. They won't darken at all, but it feels nice to feel the sun anyway. I crossed my arms below my head and took a nap in the bright sunlight.

Which resulted in me waking up surrounded by a bunch of six limbed, exoskeleton bearing, black eyed, and mandible clicking insects who seem to live near here and aren't intelligent enough to recognize a superior predator.

This vacation is just getting better and better. And by that I mean worse and worse. So I stand up, stretch my arms and wings, and proceed to tear them into tiny little pieces and incinerate the remains with lightning. My dance through them is accompanied by insect screams, green blood, and weirdly colored organs flying through the air and staining the sand. My skin remains unblemished and clean through it all as speeds faster than a hundred times gravitational acceleration whip the sand into a storm. At the end, several hundred bugs are dead in the falling sand, including several queens. Strange... They don't have the large abdomens the one I saw a while back did. I guess these were immature ones... Good thing they died before they could ever reproduce.

I set off eastwards from there again. So far I've sunk a pirate ship who dared to invade my lagoon swim, massacred an insect horde that surrounded my desert paradise, and caused a minor calamity in both the Demon Nations and Holy Empire. Not bad for two days work. I just need to spend one more on vacation before I can go back to the guild and report on all this chaos I've been causing.



I spend the night in Delta town, renting a room from the seediest looking innkeeper in town. There were a few minor incidents such as a group of kidnappers who thought a child traveling alone would make a perfect target and a serial killer/rapist who had similar ideas. They are getting a first hand teaching experience on why humans don't fly without extreme levels of technology or magic. Especially because they're technically in orbit. I'm pretty sure they burned up by now. Eh, details.

In the morning I washed my face and started moving further east, flying high above the mountains. The wyverns have learned not to mess with me when I do this. The giant bird holding me in its house sized talons is new and hasn't yet. A roc displaced by Morian... Wonderful. I'm sure 99.9% of the species went east into the distant steppes, so I just had to run into the one that decided to head for sunset, not sunrise. Well, it's dead.

Literally. I tore it to pieces and let bloody chunks of feathers and poultry rain down on the mountains while I was thinking that. I thought I already made it clear that patience was not my strong suit...

The wyverns will eat most of the corpse, but I keep a few pieces to chew on myself. It's been a while since I last ate and I've been using more energy than anticipated (read: showing off excessively) so I am feeling a bit peckish. But somehow bird just doesn't fit my mood. I want something more exotic for vacation. There was that coast filled with sea serpents and kraken that I recall....

A quick flight later and I've grabbed the largest sea serpent I could find and started eating from the head. The tail is still thrashing about due to delayed brain signals and reflexes, stirring up the sandy beach and making the other monsters retreat to the water. Perfect, maybe I can have another swimming location. I'll just scrub myself off with sand, bathe in the slightly rough tides, relax in the sunlight, and then head back to the guild after a few hours.

To my utter and complete disbelief, that plan works perfectly. I am so stunned I actually get all the way to adventurer city with my mouth still hanging open slightly. I land and walk all the way into the guild before I even notice that I forgot one of the most essential human customs: clothing. The stares drawn towards one of two areas on my body bring me back into focus, and the somehow more annoying stares directed towards anything but those parts makes me take a look at myself and realize what I did. Or more specifically didn't do.

... Good thing I'm not ashamed and can protect myself. With barely a pause, I walk confidently to the receptionists table and turn in a few body parts and a quest report to the receptionist @shad12ow, whose eyes are in the former group. I turn around and walk out while not paying any attention to the continued stares. Once in the street, I look up at the sky, down and my naked body, and decide I don't care if just for today. So I walk into the tavern and take a seat on the rafters in full view of everyone without a single stitch or scale covering my pale skin.

I'm probably not going to be making this mistake again soon. This is awkward.

@shad12ow

 

#SB4 - B rank - Slay 3 Poison Maggots. [ 350 G ]
#SB6 - B rank - Sink 1 Pirate ship [ 350 G ]
#SA1 - A rank - Slay 1 Queen Insect [ 450 G ]
#SA2 - A rank - Slay 1 Sea Serpent [ 400 G ]
#SA4 - A rank - Slay 1 Roc [ 450 G ]
======================================
"...Well...I think you really enjoyed your vacation, judging from these piles of...body part. While I can't really determine which one which, a proof is a proof. And not to mention that I could see the humongous blast you just did not long ago. You really enjoy your vacation, eh? Here is the reward, 350 gold, 250 gold, 450 gold, 400 gold, and 450 gold, total to 2000 gold. Take care now."

 

@shad12ow

Spoiler: #SE7 - E Rank - Slay 10 Wandering Rabbits [ 80 G ]

I decided to make camp in the forest since I had wandered too deep and I won't make it out of the forest before night time. I was lucky.. No attacks during the night.
The next morning I set up Traps for the Wandering Rabbit.
7 hours later, I have finally killed last of the rabbits. But on my way back I encountered a gang of bandits. they were 8
Bandit #1 "What are you looking at? Hurry up and give your valuables!"
Gram "Run, before I kill you."
Bandit #2 "What'd ya say?!"
Bandit #3 "Who do you think you are!?"
Gram "Guess you will never learn."
I unsheathed my Cutlass and instantly decapitated Bandit #1 Then kick Bandit #2 and pierced Bandit #3's heart I used [Flame slash] on Bandit #4 he was dead before he knew it.. This skill really is something! I then turn to the remaining 4 bandits, they seem scared beyond measure.
Gram "You forced my hand, Now pay me in blood"
I cleaned up the rest, and traveled back to the guild

 

@shad12ow heres the last part of my promotion quest

Spoiler: Traveling Fortress in the Unknown Lands

After landing on the mountains, I headed northeast towards the Unknown Lands. I heard from Alliuna's accounts that the Traveling Fortress was somewhere at the southern part of the Unknown Lands. To avoid the dangers on the ground, I leaped into the sky and used my secret skill Roaming the Skies. A projection of an oriental snake like Dragon appeared and enveloped me. The Dragon Essence in the projection helped lift me into the air and push me where ever I want to go...in other words, I'm FLYING!! Anyways, I flew straight to the Unknown Lands. With my level of mastery, it only took an hour to accomplish. Looking at the most updated map the guild could provide, I was able to pinpoint the location of where the Traveling Fortress used to be. Now according to the information provided by Alliuna, the Traveling Fortress moves at a kilometer per hour among the mountains. So, I decided to scour the lands slowly. Soon, after a few hours, I was able to see the Traveling Fortress sitting a moving mountain in the distance.

Arriving at the entrance of the Traveling Fortress, I was greeted by a humanoid guard. The guard seems to be a high-level stone golem. It proceeded to lead me into the fortress. Suspecting that it could be a trap, I raised my guard before venturing in. The stone guard led me to a room. In the room stood a male human.

The human male greeted me and introduced himself, "Good day to you. I'm known as Guo ZiLang (Guo is last name, ZiLang means purple wolf). Who are you and what is your business here?"

Judging from his name and his appearance, I assumed he must have been of Eastern descent. I greeted in response, "My name is Khaos - an adventurer. I'm here for diplomatic purposes. I represent the Adventurer City in the far west. I would like to know what the purpose of the Traveling Fortress is and whether or not if you want to form a trading business with us."

"Hmm, sure we can form a trade. Being unable to stay at a fixed location, we sometimes find ourselves in lack of certain resources. Trading for these needed resources could be beneficial. As for what kinds of resources...well, we would like to trade ores, crystals, raw metals, lumber, monster cores, and monster parts for medicine, weapons, armor, potions, and foodstuffs."

"Hmm, that seems good. Let's sign the contract and affirm this business deal." I said as I pulled out a contract and pen. ZiLang signed the contract and I retrieved it.

"As for our purpose as a moving fortress, well...its a curse - an unbreakable curse."

"A curse eh? Tell me more about it." I said as interest flashed in my eyes.

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning." ZiLang began, "We were once natives of the East Barrier Mountains. We lived happily while governing the surrounding villages at the foot of the mountains. However, one day everything changed. All of a sudden many of the neighboring mountains as well as the mountain our fortress was on began to move. At first we thought it was an earthquake but when we saw the mountains gradually move away from the rest of the East Barrier Mountains and into the Unknown Lands, we began to worry. All the villages at the foot of the mountains were destroyed and many lives were lost in the process. Though the shaking from the movements is noticeable, luckily we had procured a magic item that keep the fortress from collapsing. Anyways, we didn't know why the mountains were moving and we tried with all our abilities to figure out why. That...was 1000 years ago. It has been a thousand years and we haven't died yet. We can still reproduce but people stopped aging at 40 years. We can be killed as we soon found out when we first encountered a nest of wild beasts. That's why we call this a curse."

"I see."

"We have been moving around the Unknown Lands many times now. I did notice however that we have been inching closer and closer to the center of the Unknown Lands...could there be something there? If possible, we would like to request your Adventurer City to help find the cause of the movements and if possible stop the mountains from moving. Also, can you guys help us scout what's going on in the heart of the Unknown Lands and why these moving mountains are circling towards it?"

"Ok, I'll see what my guild can do. Oh by the way, what are those treants doing? Are they part of the curse too?"

"Those? Oh, they're not treants...they're wood-like monsters called Woodskins. We saved a few of them during our monster encounters and they swore loyalty to us. Now, they travel where we travel and provides us with lumber that they grow themselves."

"Ok, it's late and I should get going. Can I set up a few beacons to let my guild know of your exact location at all time?"

"Sure, if it helps."

With the conversation ended, I flew out of the fortress and placed a beacon on the fortress's highest tower, one beacon on the back side of the moving mountain, and the last beacon on the front side of the moving mountain. After I finished, I used Roaming the Skies and flew back to the guild to report my findings.

 

"Mask maker, you have done well. It seems that the Tengu has been a victim of jealousy, something that seems to rooted into any kind of creature. I still wonder why. I've tested the beacon from my lab and it has done wonderfully. Although, the speed and move pattern of the floating island is a bit...strange? I guess that is the word. While the fortress is a bit more regular. Aside from that, we can now establish a good relationship with them. As soon as the airship is built, we can trade with them much easily. And with this quest over, you are officially become A-Ranked member of the guild. Congratulation. We expect more great result from you in the future, mask maker."

 

I also qualify for S-rank promotion quest btw

 

You have to wait for a while. I need to process the whole quest line for that.

 

Its just to let you know. I plan to increase my repertoire first

 

Got it.

 

@shad12ow

 

BC1 (ant), SB1 (maggot), SB2 (kraken), SB3 (pirate ship), SC2 (shark), SC6 (pirate) @shad12ow

Spoiler

Reachii

I had Aevhera guide me south toward the sea, all while familiarizing the sensation of flying blind. I dare not be careless since a swooping wyvern was actually a threat so I created a massive ice sphere to surround us while we flew. Well, I thought it's a sphere. It looked like a 'puffer fish', as Vhera said.

The salty smell marked that I've reached the ocean recently. I increased our altitude so Vhera can see further, spotting the tiny black sails fluttering on the ships. She pulled me along so that we're right above, or at least close to that.

I removed the bottom half of the sphere, and Vhera helped me point my finger. I extended my mana from there, the gentle flowing sensation of water pooled out before it rapidly harden into an ice cube. The mermaid said it's around 'a house' in size, I'm not sure which house she's referring to but should be enough to pulverize a ship from this height.

I inquired Vhera to correct my finger point, and launched the mini-iceberg to the ship.

...and it missed.

No problem, I'll throw more.

Missed.

Missed.

Missed.

Missed again! The captain's good at this.

Vhera's giggling uncontrollably at it. I shrugged and materialized around a dozen and spread it out, letting loose a frozen mass of doom onto the open sea below. This time I finally heard the satisfying crunch, marking the destruction of the black flag... not. Vhera said that it clipped and ripped apart the backside, but it was sinking slow enough for the crews to escape.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Summoning hundreds of frost spear, I rained it down upon the (probably) despairing pirates. Vhera cheerfully tallied more than five, so I decided to leave the survivors. We did swooped down to fetch the captain's hat (I think), a particularly large tricorn. Not sure whether the captain's alive or not. Don't care anyway.

Finally, I went a bit further away and activated a particularly strong mana pulse. Waiting for a moment, sharks came first - not surprising, probably attracted by the blood nearby. Then there's some feral mermaids, which uselessly claw at my ice dome, and finally a small kraken. Still big enough to swallow a mermaid whole. I flash-froze the entire area and fished it out, letting Vhera counting at least twenty mermaids, eight shark, and a kraken. Good harvest. I brought the whole lot out and started to flew northward when something... powerful approached us. I waited until it stopped nearby before calling out.

"That's close enough. Who are you?" I asked, battle ready as I grasped Vhera's hand. Damn, would be hard protecting her from something with aura that strong. Perhaps when I still retain my sight, but not anymore. That's why I picked quests where my flight provided absolute advantage in the first place...


Villan


While tailing those two with the speed of S*nic, I check the quests Reachii take. Hmmmm ant,maggots,kraken,pirate ship,shark and pirate. From the looks of their direction from the ground, Reachii probably going to complete the Quests related to the sea first. While I could help them, I decided not to. Well, putting 2 adventurers that have powers like monster to at same B Rank Quest Places doesn't look that efficient. Let's clear the Desert one first.

#BC1 - B Rank - The Ant Nest is dangerous

The quest said the ant nest is dangerous. Although from my observation, the adventurers who have taken the quest aren't affected by it. I wonder if it's just a fluke. Thinking that I entered the ant nest.
What could I expect? Nothing else other than ants ants ants ants inside this nest. This place looked like a taboo place for majority of female adventurers, I could somehow imagine disgusted face of Reachiii and Aevhera. Okay stop imagining, let's try not to overhunt the ants. I don't want to bear the responsibility for extinction of a Dungeon *Sighs*.

While in Asura Mode, I proceeded to massacre the ants caught in my sight. If I count numerically, the victim should be around 90 -100 ants,colony of ants I guess. Not to mention I also got 2 heads of Ant Queens. Finished massacring those pests I walked out from the Ant nest, proceeding to Roden Cave

#SB4 - B rank - Slay 3 Poison Maggots. [ 350 G ]

Ugh, maggots. As if those Ants aren't disgusting enough. Look at this abomination looking insect. Giant, Creepy crawling and those slimy looking corrosive poison..... *Sighs*. Those two will probably snapped when they saw this...... Let's finish this quick.

Nothing special about this monsters. Under the strenght of someone like me, they are just like a toy. 15 maggots down, I overhunted them again I guess. Even when they died, their insides are really infested with corrosive liquid poisons, annoying seriously. Dismantling 6 maggots head, I immediately went out when suddenly....... I saw a mini iceberg appeared at the sea. Is Reachii trying to pull Tit*nic I wonder? But, there's no romantic love in this world since they do not know T*tanic, or maybe ya....... *cough* let's stop....... and went to the sea. How? with my S*nic Speed of course (Standing on top of the Sea)

Coming with the speed of S*nic I arrived at the Iceberg place? There, I see........... Reachiii curbstomping those poor pirates,kraken,sharks and feral mermaids while little Aevhera cheering on her. *Sighs* As unreasonable as always, her power even when she lost her sights. I don't think I could call her unreasonable while I'm pretty unreasonable aswell. Oh..... she raised a vigilance, probably since we rarely met and I have never shown this form to anyone other than that Sage Demon and close acquintances. Let's clear the misunderstandings for a bit,
"Hmmm you forgot who I am?" *Blasting Asura Blast faraway, hitting approaching krakens at far distance and emitting powerful Sea Explosion* "Remember now? I'm not surprised if no one recognized me in this form since I've never shown anyone this."


Reachii


"That voice... Villan? What the heck did you eat past week?" I was surprised, really. His unsuppressed aura's evenly matched with mine, but I can tell that he's using it way more efficiently. Worlds away from his previous form, is he even human anymore?


Villan


"What does that have to do with my past week food?! Are you perhaps on diet? or are you trying to be abs mage?!"(Villan)
The tense atmosphere has turned into awkward moment between us.........


Reachii


I massaged my temple. He's surprisingly slow on this.

"I mean... your power level? Not everyday someone spiked that much in short term." I unconsciously hugged Vhera closer. He's not trying to take her back, is he?


Villan


"How I achieved this is my privacy (I can't tell her I died numerous times training under those 2 monsters inside the Revival Dimension). And no I'm not trying to take her back, I only commencing my Master and Queen order to protect Aevhera. Reason why? Queen said it will be a good experience for her (seriously this queen got some serious case of lacking common sense)."(Villan)


Reachii


"In that case, I shall not pry into it." I chuckled at the following statement. "You need not worry about Vhera, she's improving massively in her control. She's perfectly capable defending against normal people" I emphasized at normal. "And with time, her manapool will grow."

The iceberg fell with a loud splash. Oops, it unconsciously slipped from my control. The annoying part when I can barely sense anything I don't touch directly, even my own mana, is that the control slip off after a period of time unless I concentrate on it the whole time. I lifted it out of the water, fumbling to pinch Vhera's cheek as she giggled at my mistake.

"Well then, I'd love to stay and chat but I still got two more quests to do. See you back in town, if you'd like?"


Villan


"Actually..... about that.... *takes out 3 ant queen heads and 6 maggot heads from mermaid tech bag*....I got excess amount of the quests material.....And I highly doubt you would want to complete the last 2 quests when you saw the place..... Consider this a joint quest?" Not like it's a problem if she refused, I could solo all of those B Rank Quests after all.


Reachii


There was an awkward silence until Vhera whispered that Villan brought out some ant heads and pieces of maggots from his bag. Sheesh, I'm blind! Say it clearer at least!

"Well, it's not like I particularly mind. Would be great to return sooner... You obviously didn't took those two by chance. You copied our quest? I don't have extras, aside from the sharks..."


Villan


"As I said, I'm commencing the order from my master and the queen so yes, I'm copying your quests.Now, if you could excuse me, I need to catch the Kraken I blasted faraway a while ago."(Villan)
Saying so, I immediately moved to the Kraken corpses place where I fired my blast. Looks like there is one sunken ship with lots of pirate corpse loitering around the kraken corpses aswell, added with one pirate captain corpse. My blast shouldn't be that strong for it to went into another continent right? (Little did Villan know the Asura Blast he fired actually landed and cast a hole at certain mountain at the West Continent. But that is the story for the another day).

1 minute later
"Done, 3 Kraken corpses and passing by pirate captain head. Go back?"(Villan)

Reachii

Well that was quick.

"Sure thing. Uuh, race you back?"

I doubt I'll win that one, but I'm not sure what else to say. Nodding to his general direction, I hugged Vhera and shot off into the distance. With her guidance, obviously.

I left the iceberg with a portion suspiciously sliced out outside, while Villan nearby was queuing with some suspiciously frozen sharks among his proofs. I let Vhera led me to the receptionist @shad12ow to turn in the quest.

"Pirates and ship," Vhera made some... throwing motion? I assume she tossed the tricorn to Shadow's head. "Shark and kraken and some tagalong mermaids outside," I point at the iceberg's general direction. "And ants plus maggots." Finally, I let the ice chunk containing a few vitals of the insects fell on the ground with a loud thud.

 

@Bielt and @A_Tiny_And_Fluffy_Mammal , you two may want to read the post above. I'm expecting mad Biel and Eun-Ha waiting at the temple, if they don't immediately rush to the guild upon hearing a mini iceberg just flew into town.

 

*furiously poke @shad12ow*