6 Expedition

The cult member smirked and with a swing of his arm, a magical shield blocked the attack.

"Magic?"

Vildred blurted out as his sword struck the shield, remaining composed as he delivered the remaining electricity energy towards the cult member.

Vzzt!

The cult member flew backwards and crashed against a tree. Leaves fell as they drifted with the wind, but the cult member merely laughed through his mouth full of blood.

"You think you can defeat me with just that? You'll never understand the true secrets of those manuals without joining us." The cult member threatened, his aura rising exponentially as a magic circle formed before him again.

"Yes, common essence manuals can be found everywhere, but that's precisely why they are priceless." The cult member said as a bolt of fire dashed towards Vildred.

Moonlight wanted to react, but it was too late for him. In the end, his injuries still affected him slightly and even though it was minor, this slight delay was more than fatal.

Right at this moment, a blob intercepted the flame and absorbed it. It was the fire slime.

Unlike when it was just born, it had wide circular eyes right now with a cute appearance, a crimson halo above its head. It had evolved, not in terms of strength, but as an individual of its species.

The halo above its head rotated quickly as flames cloaked around it, flying through the air towards the cult member who was in a state of shock.

"Don't kill him!" Vildred hurriedly instructed at the last moment, his arms reached out to signal the fire slime.

Even though the fire slime didn't pay him any notice, the ring still slowed down slightly whilst striking the cult member at full force.

"Argh! Let me go, I promise to never bother you again!"

One moment, the cult member was full of arrogance. Yet now, he was begging for his life, blood staining his long robe. His hair was in a mess and his tears were mixed with blood. His body sprawled across the ground.

That attack might have seemed direct, but it was more than just fatal.

Each step Vildred took was an eternity to the cult member who was laying on the ground, each step stomping on his heart whilst to prolong the pain.

"Share with me the secrets behind the magic that you used." Vildred commanded whilst standing before the man who was struggling to even face him.

"Promise that you won't kill me after this." The cult member bargained, cold sweat mixed with his filthy blood,

Vildred winced his eyebrows, but still nodded his head.

"The magic circles are… Wait, promise that you won't cripple me as well or I would be better off dead."

"Bargain any further and you're dead, this is the most that you are qualified to ask for." Vildred said coldly, his sly smile concealed.

The cult member heaved a sigh of relief, the scheme of his already being planned out.

"You see, magic can be casted in different forms. One example is the magic circle you just saw. It can also be a form of temporary enchantment or elemental attack. They can be comprehended if one decides to invest enough time into a manual, that's all I know." The cult member explained everything in one breath, as quickly as he could.

"Can I leave now?"

"Go ahead."

The cult member got onto his feet and smirked, only to realise that a halo blazing with flames had penetrated his chest.

"I promised to not kill you, but my monsters didn't." Vildred sniggered without restraint. Allowing the fire slime to devour the man.

"Despicable human…" Those were the last words of the cult member as he fell onto the ground with his body burning up in flames.

"Fire, follow me back to the dungeon for an assessment. Moonlight, it's about time you left, just remember to return once in every while." Vildred gave his set of instructions quickly before leaving, allowing the flames to erase the evidence.

The Moonlight Wolf bowed its head slightly before turning towards the west, it was heading for the Eastern hills.

"Dusk moon cult? Interesting."

Vildred might not have been involved in this world for long, but there were some things he was sure of. He was numbed to killing, he understood that he should never leave any potential threats against himself. Most importantly, being merciless seemed to be in his blood.

Fire slime (1st assessment):

Attack: D- / C

Defense: D- / C

Speed: D- / C

Traits: None

Mutated Fire slime (2nd assessment):

Attack: D / C+

Defense: D / C+

Speed: D / C+

Traits: Fire halo, diverse effects

It was evident that the fire slime had made some discoveries while exploring outside, but Vildred didn't have the intention to ask further as he allowed the slime to return to the forest.

With this, he permitted the fire slime to return to the forest. Even if it did something unforgivable, he would protect it.

Vildred didn't understand in the past, why were adventurers so biased towards monsters, but now he did. It was because those adventurers felt threatened and even though monsters held no harm initially, the blood feud was formed.

The humans had initiated the war.

At this moment, he received another scroll with the crescent moon imprinted onto it.

Breaking the center seal easily with some force, he opened it up.

"You have potential, interested in being collaboration partners instead of enemies? If you are, meet me at the central lake of the Eastern forest."

Seems like the fun has just started…

In the meantime, Klauw and Drasnek had finally reached the adventurer's guild.

"Request for us to be in the same team." Klauw told Drasnek

"Sure." Drasnek replied whilst walking up to the registration counter.

Wren was nowhere to be seen, so Klauw could finally eat his burger in peace whilst Drasnek went on to register them for the expedition that was about to take place in the next few hours.

Drasnek returned and stared emotionlessly at Klauw, wolfing down the burger at an immense speed nearly swallowing it, Drasnek read a sign that said 'Food was prohibited in this zone'. As Klauw was finishing up his burger, the guild masters started to group everyone into their own teams.

Each participant had already chosen their own professions among the 5 main professions.

Warrior, Mage, Archer, Thief, Priest

The Warriors are the main frontline as they tend to be able to endure the most amount of damage whilst dealing impactful damage from a close range. Therefore, it wasn't a very popular choice as there was a significant amount of risk in picking this profession.

Thieves on the other hand was the riskiest profession. Despite being on the frontline, they had a significantly less amount of health compared to a warrior which means that a single accident could spell death. They are also responsible for setting up and clearing booby traps. It was the least popular profession due to the high risk and high skill ceiling which would mean high risk high reward for their accomplishments. Just failing to detect or destroy a trap could cost a life or even their own life which could have a great toll on their reputation as a Thief.

Whilst being a priest was the safest profession, it wasn't a widely picked role. This was because a priest had a low damage output and their healing spells couldn't be casted frequently due to the high mana (crystal essence) cost. The priests are usually neglected and looked down upon usually, but when the time comes, they are the one that can turn the tides around. Even though health potions exist and suffice under normal circumstances, a priest was just capable of accomplishing much more, especially when in the higher tiers.

As for archers, it was the profession capable of attacking from miles away. Taking the life of their enemy without being seen. They might lack the ability to deal with a large amount of monsters at once, but they had their high firing speed to cover for this drawback. If the time comes where there are large amounts of quick moving targets, then the archers would be the star on the battlefield.

Last but not least were the mages. Whilst the mages required some time to cast their spells, they were capable of great destruction on the battlefield. For a mage, they might be vulnerable to attacks whenever a monster gets close to them, but they have quick spells that can be casted within a short time frame to protect themselves. It was the profession that can never be left out on the battlefield.

Klauw was an archer whilst Drasnek was a warrior.

Each team had five different professions of twenty people. They were classified under rookies in the first tier. There are five phases, Klauw was in phase 3 and Drasnek was in phase 2.

After the allocation was decided, the teams were formed.

Out of the two thousand odd adventurers, around eighty percent of them were basic tier adventurers whilst the remaining were secondary tier adventurers.

The basic tier adventurers known as rookies were divided into groups of twenty members whilst the secondary tier adventurers known as elites were divided into groups of eight.

As for the five guild leaders in this town, they were the only 3rd tier secondary adventures excluding the city lord and they would be staying back to oversee the whole expedition.

(Secondary tier are divided into two stages, 2nd tier and 3rd tier)

"Adventurers, are you ready to slay those monsters to protect humanity from harm?" The town master probably in his forties asked from the stage.

Silence… It was absolutely silent. No one had the courage to admit that sacrificing their lives as an adventurer was worth it for humanity.

As I expected. The town master mocked himself for being incompetent, his domineering aura suppressing the crowd.

"Listen up! From the first day you became an adventurer, you were expected to defend against those monsters with your life! Or did you expect humanity to raise you with precious resources so that you can enjoy a good life?" The town master questioned all the adventurers beneath him.

One second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds…

"Town master, count me in for this expedition!"

Even though only one person started it, it soon caused a ripple effect towards all the adventurers. Even so, about hundreds of adventurers still showed hesitance.

The town master sighed before announcing, "All the best adventurers! Come back alive! Humanity still needs you!"