Rough Edges

"Good morning everyone. This is Aima, she is the supporter I told everyone about yesterday." Becky introduced the party to a female dwarf with red hair. She only reached up to Becky's eye level, however she looked very lean for her height - that was even with her leather armor on. She had a mature and sophisticated air as she carried herself.

"Hello, my full name is Aima Gunsborg - Aima for short. I'm a rank D adventurer. As what Becky said, I'm mainly a healer-support type, however my other class is a blacksmith so I can use our spoils to reinforce your weapons or make an entirely new one. Though both services will cost you." She maintained her smile as she said the last part casually.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Sebastian. I come from the countryside so I'm still a bit naive about some things. Pleased to meet you." Sebastian tried to shake her hand, but Aima laughed as she just tapped his shoulder before moving on to the other members.

"I'm Melissa Criel but you can call me Mel. I am an archer but I can also use a sword if need be."

"My name is Jinzo Sawyer - Jin for short. I'm the vanguard of the group. I use a shield and a spear. More importantly, how did you know Becky?"

"We partied together for a few quests. I usually transfer from one party to another that's how we met on one quest and we did a couple more quests after that. I have other part-time jobs by the way."

"Uh, okay. Thank you for that information. So you actually go way back with Becky. Hmm.." Jin pretended to think seriously as he rubbed his hand on his chin. Becky didn't hide her irk as she simply shook her head in silence.

"If there are no more real questions then the introductions are now finished. Let's head inside the adventurer's guild as we look for our quest today." Becky lead everyone inside the adventurer's guild and immediately in front of the notice board to look for quest postings.

"Can I suggest that we just search for herb gathering and animal subjugation in the same area?" Jin gathered the group before they became too engrossed in the notice board. "We have new members and we haven't had the chance to see how well we work as a team. Let's use today as a test of sorts."

Sebastian nodded before he looked at Becky in the eye. "It's not a training, however we need to know how the other members work so we can adjust our strategies accordingly. We should prepare for our quests and not take it haphazardly as someone here frequently tells us."

"I see. That actually sounds like a good idea. Thank you for the suggestion Jin. Let's go with that if the majority are amenable to it? I agree with Jin's plan." Aima sounded experienced enough as she steered the group's discussion into a voting.

"I have no problems with that as long as I get to use my bow."

"That's fine by me. You actually listened to me before. I'm so shocked I could cry." Becky flatly replied as she responded to Sebastian's gaze.

"Then that settles it. Here are a couple of quests within the same area in Trenlant Forest. One is to look for specific mushrooms, the other is to cull the population of bears. We need to fill at least 3 baskets full of the Tross mushroom and we need to kill at least 5 bears. I imagine we can do these quests today. Is that alright with everyone?" Jin passed the quest postings around for everyone to read.

Once everyone agreed, they went to the guild receptionist to register their adventurer tags with their quests.

As they were walking towards the city exit, Aima pulled Sebastian close as she whispered. "One of my part time jobs is to cast [Cleanse] and [Detoxify] in a certain establishment. *wink* I hope you physically cleaned yourself afterwards, country hick." She said everything with a smile, it almost felt surreal to Sebastian. He could only blink as he processed what she said. He suddenly remembered that the spellcaster in the establishment last night wore a robe to hide her identity - though he knew now.

"Is that why you didn't want to shake my hand earlier? It makes sense now. However I did clean myself when I got home. Also it was a one-time thing, its not on a regular basis."

"Sure, say whatever you want. I am sworn to secrecy with that job so I can't say anything to the others."

"Then why did you tell me? Are you blackmailing me?"

"What's blackmail? Is it an expression from the sticks?"

"It means that I pay you for you to keep the information to yourself. How much do you want?"

"Ah, I never said anything of the sort. I only wanted to see your reaction, that is all. No need to get that defensive. If people knew that I spoke out against one of that dwarf's 'dear patrons' then I would lose my job and my credibility. Never underestimate a bored older woman. Haha." She raised her hand to her nose as she pretended to laugh. Once she was finished with her teasing, she then took Sebastian's hand and shook it as if they met the first time. The others looked at them with a bewildered expression.

"Are you checking his mana?" Becky couldn't understand what Aima was doing as they were heading to the forest for their quest.

"In a way. I'm also checking his character. I like to keep myself interested, you know that."

It was Sebastian's turn to shake his head in silence as he felt defeated even before their quests started.

***

Sebastian studied the mushroom he plucked before placing it in the basket. It looked like a regular portobello mushroom, however it had silver veins running through it. It made it easier to spot from a distance, making their gathering speed quicker. He learned that it was mainly used for health potions or a healing salve. After the mutated wolf C quest, there was a shortage in Wildecross City.

"Whew. We've gathered the required 3 baskets already. Is this enough for the quest?"

"Yes, that should be enough. Good job everyone. That's one quest down for today. We can take a break as we have lunch here." Jin set down the basket strapped on his back as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Awkward silence ensued as they looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"Ah, can we have Mel and Sebastian prepare our lunch? Becky please scout the area, and Aima -"

"I'll continue gathering the mushrooms. Though these will be for me. The shortage has driven the prices for these Tross mushrooms high enough. I won't wander far, don't worry about me." Aima smiled as she started searching the area around them without even waiting for the others to respond.

"It seemed that you were at a loss when it came to preparing meals, didn't any of you do this before?" Mel asked Sebastian as they were getting the pot and rations from their rucksacks.

"We didn't realise it then, but one of our previous party members was the one that always did it. It already seemed like routine when she did it. I think this is part of the change that we need to fill in her absence."

"Ah, the one that used [Exalted Heal] on me right?"

"Yes, her. She's gone back to the monastery, that's why we were searching for new party members."

Sebastian casted [Fire] on the firewood they gathered to start a small campfire to warm the soup.

Once everyone had their fill of soup and bread for lunch, they packed their gear as they headed towards another part of Trenlant forest. Their next quest posting specified this area as the main region where bears were sprawling about.

"Why do we have to control their population? Is this because they might offset the balance in the ecosystem? Like a hunting season?" Sebastian was still reading the quest posting as he called his question out.

"In a way. You know that once the animals are exposed to mana for long periods of time they become mutated beasts right? This is to prevent that. Mana is everywhere, including the forest here. The adventurer's guild frequently posts requests that ask us to control the animal population for them. There are specific animals that are dangerous each season, so you could call it a 'hunting season'. Country hicks really have their own little world ey." Aima looked at Sebastian with a look of pity as she gave her explanation.

'People really seem to look down on people from the countryside', Sebastian thought to himself again.

"Shush. There's a bear in front of us. Let's take it down quick." Becky motioned for them to stop and crouch down as she directed their attention to a bear in the clearing.

"Okay everyone check equipment. I'll draw it's aggression first, then Sebastian and Becky take it by surprise. Mel take shots if it's clear while Aima please support the entire party beside Mel."

Everyone nodded to show Jin that they understood their roles and were waiting for him.

"Here we go! [Shield Bash], [Spear Slash]!" Jin dashed forward as he used his skills in succession.

After he broke his equipment in the mutated wolf quest, he changed his shield to a buckler. It minimised the damage his [Shield Bash] could inflict and the defense it gave him, however it provided more mobility for him which he required for his glaive. Jin's glaive comprised of a handle which made up for 2/3 of the length, while the rest of the length was the blade. It allowed him to inflict more damage and expand the skills which he could use.

"Alright Jin draw attention while Sebastian and Becky prepare to attack! Becky aim for the hind side while Sebastian go to the right side!" Aima was shouting non stop as she almost dictated their actions.

"Eh? Ah, yeah. [Augment] Reinforce Legs!" Sebastian missed his timing as he hesitated before moving to the bear's side.

"What are you doing! Becky where are you? Attack now. Don't leave Jin alone in front of the bear!"

Aima didn't show any signs of stopping her nagging as she called out from beside Mel.

The bear raised it's paws as it prepared to pounce on Jin.

GGGGRRRROOOOOAAAAA!!!

"[Sonic Arrow]!" Mel released an arrow imbued with her mana into the bear's head.

FWIT! BAM!

"[Poison Strike], [Rock Kick]!" Becky suddenly appeared at the bear's blind spot where she unloaded her skills.

Sebastian finally appeared at the bear's side as he used his two swords to slash across the bear's throat.

GGGRRRRRrrrrrruuuu

The bear let out a dying gurgle as it fell forward, lifeless.

"What the hell was that?" Sebastian couldn't control his annoyance as he faced Aima. "You were distracting everyone? Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean? I was calling the fight out for everyone to know. Everyone did their part except you, didn't you know that? Experienced adventurers know to maintain their focus in the battlefield."

"You didn't need to call it out! Why would we need to do that?! It was only for a single bear for crying out loud. Agh!" Sebastian threw down his swords as he felt his frustration peak.

"Calm down Sebastian, this isn't like you. Take a few deep breaths, use your [Augment] skill if needed." Jin placed his hand on Sebastian's shoulder to guide him away from Aima.

"He's right you know. You were distracting everyone. I had to block your voice out of my head most of the fight. I also missed my timing because of your shouting." Becky cleaned her daggers as she sheathed them.

"That's because I'm the most experienced adventurer in the group. It's my responsibility to guide everyone is it not?" Aima still wasn't backing down even though she didn't contribute anything else in the fight.

Becky let out a sigh as she looked at her new party members. A swordswoman turned archer, and a healer that was more annoying than beasts. She quietly wished she could use [Augment] to remove the growing headache as well.