Preparation for Expedition
The guild head listened to the report with a frown, "Thank you for scouting ahead, but to think there would be a camp so close to the Thorn Wall," the older man trailed off.
"Nevertheless," he continued, "it only shows how important our expedition is. I was able to obtain clearance from the headquarters of certain things, one of which is that if you perform well, you and maybe the rest of your group will have your rank up to Bronze rank, which is scarily fast," the man admitted.
"Alright, but when will the expedition begin?" Ian asked the more important question.
"It will begin in one more month, to allow us to transport the necessary funds from the headquarters and gather the supplies for the expedition. After all, this expedition is the first one to take us deep inside the Thrine Forest.
Before, the deepest any adventurers and guild officials have gone to is merely 1 kilometer from the Thorn Wall before we are forced to retreat," Mr. Grul told them.
"Will there be any commission in the near future?" Kell asked, which is a valid question. After all, the guild will be busy and might not be able to handle handing out the commission with most of the staff helping in preparation for the expedition.
"Yes, but only for the next two weeks. After that, the guild will not accept any commission until the threat of the goblin chieftain has been ended," the head answered.
"Alright, thank you for the info," Ian said before leaving the office.
-x-
"So, what did you two learn?" Lisa asked, looking expectantly at the two boys of the group.
Ian and Kell proceed to tell them what they had learned, along with some of their guesses.
"While I am not sure, the guild might send more staff to help with the shortage of manpower, maybe even send some adventurers from the other cities," Ian pointed out, which is not that far off if they think about it.
"So, what are we going to do for now?" Ana asked. After all, they only have two weeks to take commissions, which is less than they planned.
"We should change our training week from next week to the third week after this week, so we can gain more experience, well, you three will gain more experience. Both Kell and I will be going deep inside the forest and see if we can learn anything more," Ian told them.
"When do you think we are ready to go on such a dangerous scouting mission?" Fiona asked, looking expectantly at them, especially at Ian.
Which made him cough slightly, "Well," he adjusted his glasses, "For Lisa, she only needs to get some equipment to help cause a distraction if she is detected before we allow her to go on a solo scouting mission.
As for you and Ana, your specialty made it hard to make you into a scout, so don't expect much. The best thing I can offer you for now, and maybe even in the future is to be at the frontline and use your magic more offensively," Fiona and Ana grumbled but he will not back down from this decision of his.
Wanting to prevent any possible fight, Lisa asked, "What mission are we going to take?"
"That depends on you three," the question floored them before Fiona understood what he meant.
"You mean...," "Yes, you will be allowed to pick the mission at your own discretion, but if you want our advice, don't be shy to ask. But please try to make the decision on your own, and make sure it is something you can handle," Ian emphasizes on 'can handle'. Don't want them to lose their life because of cockiness after all.
"Alright, is there more news?" Lisa asked this time. The two think about it before shooting their head.
"None for now. Just check your equipment and make sure all of you are combat-ready. By the way, don't wait for us tomorrow, and maybe even the day after," Ian told them.
"Why?" Fiona questioned, though a part of her felt like she was not going to like the reason.
"We are going to stay at the depth of Thrine Forest for who knows how long," yup, she definitely doesn't like the reason.
-x-
"Do you think we should stop them?" Fiona asked the girls after they entered their room.
"What can we do? The two of them are as stubborn as mules, heck, even a mule is less stubborn than them both. And that is just one of them. If the two of them agree, then it is impossible to change their mind," Lisa told her, which made her bury her head into her pillow, the sound of groaning can be heard by the two girls.
"Don't worry, they can handle anything," Ana tried to assure the blonde. "There is nothing that can challenge them aside from the goblin chieftain itself,"
"Yes, you are right," Fiona took a deep breath. "I need to believe he can handle whatever is inside the Thrine Forest,"
The two girls let out a sigh of relief. At least the blonde was no longer worried. "One more thing, you never tell me of how good Kell is in bed," Never mind, they wish she continue to worry.
-x-
"Do you think they can handle how to commission in a single day?" Kell asked Ian, who was busy reading the Tome of Fire, the second book he had bought from the Store.
"Depends. Den, maybe two a day. Tribes, 4 to 5. Slime pods, 10, at the very least. As for the hunting and gathering commission, that depends on the rarity of the game and herbs and how many other people already did the same thing," Ian told Kell, who hummed.
"What is our plan for tomorrow, Ian?" Kell asked. Ian did not answer, merely staring at the ceiling.
After a while, he answered, "None," if they were sharing their bunk bed, Kell would have had his head hit the ceiling or the top bunk. Here, they definitely did not have bunk beds, at least in the city, so he did not suffer any more cranial trauma.
"Wha-" "I cannot come out with a plan without any information. So, we can only go to the previous camp, exterminate the monsters there if they decide to occupy the camp, and then see how things go from there,"
Kell digested all his head heard and nodded. They did not have any information on the monsters' movement, so the best thing they can do for now is to observe and come up with a plan after learning more about the depth of Thrine Forest.