Chapter 20: New Teammates
[~Quests~]
{ [Enigmatic Labyrinth - Third Main-Story Quest]
[Details: A place with mysteries needed to be solved to gain the composure of the said Labyrinth]
[Success: Insight upon the System and Ancient Texts]
[Failure: Stranded inside the Labyrinth for Eternity]
[Time Limit: 10 Days] }
"Huff…" I slowly inhaled the cold air of the early morning, "Hah…" and exhaled it after thoroughly tasting and feeling it through my lungs.
"This is different from the game version too…" I whispered to myself as I scanned the quest.
"Am I missing something?" I asked myself, pondering what clue it is that I'm not seeing.
"Yahoo, Nordy!" The voice of a female whose face I didn't recognize entered my ears.
No, I did indeed recognize the person in question, not his appearance. "Good morning, Smool."
"Ya slept well?"
"Indeed," I nodded as I opened the map in my hold, scanned it a little, and then tucked it in my back.
I turned to Isolde, "I need a crew of ten members to come with me. Find me the swiftest and quick-witted ones. I don't need powerful people, I need smarty pants for this quest."
"Understood."
"Since I, Smool, and another one I've chosen personally are going, you only need to find seven others."
"Yes, sir." She bowed as I made my way to return to my apartment.
The clouded sky with a grey tinge made me feel rather uneasy as I thought of the following days.
I slid my hand down the empty air to check my stats. I hadn't gotten to do so ever since I got the penalty back then.
{ [Username: Nord]
[Level: ????] - [Stat Points: ?????] - [Exp: ?????????/?????????]
[Race: Mythical]
[Job: Adventurer]
[Weapon: Mythic Killing Dagger(S-Grade)]
[Modifier(s): The Serpentine Slayer]
[HP: 1500▴▾/1500▴▾] -- [MP: 1242▴▾/1242▴▾]
[Strength: 202 ▴▾] -- [Agility: 102 ▴▾] -- [Sense: 85 ▴▾] -- [Vitality: 102 ▴▾] -- [Intelligence: 105 ▴▾] }
"Sigh… So they've returned to back how they formerly were before my battle with Ares, huh?"
If Emberhorn took notice of me having a hacked system, why didn't they fully confiscate it, reset it, and return it back to level 0, like everyone else?
I don't know.
There's a lot I don't understand.
A game has become a reality.
That very same game that had made me failure, and that very same one I had attempted to hack is now the one I'm fighting through to survive.
"Pfft…" I sputtered with my lips as a frown etched over my face.
I was finally back home, the first thing I did was get hold of a wider bag and packed another pair of clothes, some essentials for hygiene, a pan, dried rations, utensils, and made a place for water by snuggling it in.
"Hah…" I heaved out as I took hold of it, measuring the weight roughly before stepping out of my darkened apartment.
I moved through the grim-colored streets that were once full of lights and colors, "This is supposed to be the meeting spot correct?" I asked no one in particular as I set my bag down, waiting for the rest to get here.
As the leader of the group with the strongest Lenticular supporting me, I have to be more responsible than the others, since my words hold weight.
"..."
I felt someone's gaze upon me.
"Oh, hey Cleare, I see you're ready to depart."
"Yes, and I see that you haven't disappeared on your own."
"Haha, a promise is a promise. I always do my utmost to hold them."
"Hmmm…"
"What?" I raised my brows.
"You've changed." Slightly, she smiled, her eyes narrowing cutely behind the frame of her glasses.
"Huh?" I gazed at her, surprised.
"Yahoo, Nordy, Cleare, we're here!" Smool approached her with that cheerful tone of hers.
A crew following right behind her.
"Hmm, Isolde really is useful when needed, isn't she?" I scoffed in contentment.
"Hello everyone, I am glad you've all gained the courage to participate in this Main-Story Quest for the sake of the city and the whole country." Firstly, I greeted them respectfully.
"We'll be in your care." They bowed slightly.
"Shall we get to moving already? There's quite some distance we have to cover, and sadly, we don't have the leisure of using cars to travel towards our destination."
They all followed suit, an awkward silence stretching between us as we walked.
"Hey, Smool, aren't you supposed to be the one lightening the mood right now?!" I whispered to the female on my right.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" A deep baritone voice entered my ears, catching me off guard.
"Bwa!?"
"Phwu!"
"Why'd you shapeshift like that!?"
"Why the fuck would you punch me!?"
"'Cause you scared me, duh," I spoke in a yassified manner.
"Pfft…" A snort entered my ears, one of the females.
I looked by my side to see who laughed.
A girl behaved suspiciously.
"Ah, I realized we haven't introduced yet, shall we do it now as we walk?"
"Yeah, we should get to know each other better," Cleare smiled kindly, "My name is Cleare Lionfield."
"I'm Nord, as all of you may already know me."
"Smool here."
"Ah, I'm Maya Patel, a healer. Formerly I was a paramedic so if you all think something is wrong with your bodies, don't hesitate to tell me!" She smiled, her blonde hair fluttering around as her blue eyes shone.
"I'm Izzy Chen. Used to be a Cybersecurity Agent and I have knowledge related to hacking. Once servers are up and working, feel free to count on me to snoop for information." She spoke, her voice sounding rather grumpy, "Age is sixteen by the way."
A deep voice was heard next, "I'm Marcus Blackthorn, formerly a captain in the military, and I'll try my best to be useful in this quest. As for my age, I'm thirty-five years old." He had a built body and short dark hair.
"Alaric Stone, you may call me a scientist for all I care." He was scrawny and wearing a lab coat, his age seemed to be similar with that of Marcus'.
"Evie Hawthrone," The caramel-haired lady saluted, "I'm an archeologist and excel in deciphering scripts!" She had a cowboy hat and seemed to be full of energy.
"Bash Montgomery, job class is thief. I am careful with my steps and decision-making." He seemed to be younger than me. "Age is nineteen."
"X Rivera, I won't tell you my full name but I am an information agent with useful connections."
"I see, my job class is Adventurer. Maya, Izzy, Marcus, Alaric, Evie, Bash, and X, I hope we'll get along with each other."
"Now then, towards the Enigmatic Labyrinth." I voiced as I gazed at the current map of Nivalis. The Enigmatic Labyrinth being close to a forest just outside the city of Duskville, the Morland forest.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone