Meeting Adventurers

Inside the reception of the Alliance HQ, at the section meant for the registration of novices, Femi and Arwan were both looking at the prettiest lady they had seen with different expressions.

"Ahhh... I don't think we can, Miss," Arwan scratched his head. "We aren't equipped with weapons yet... and as you know, preparing equipment like that might take a while."

"Tch. I said we should do that last night, but you were against it," Femi retorted.

In response, Arwan threw a sharp glance at Femi, who was behind him. Femi saw Arwan's face and a wide smirk grew.

"Heh heh. Just admit it. You're scared to hunt, aren't you?" Femi teased.

Arwan's ears began turning red. Femi was on point.

"N-no. I just felt like we should take things slowly. We're new to this and all of that..."

Alicia, who was watching their fit in amusement, finally spoke:

"Hehe, you cuties don't need to worry. You'll be fine... I can suggest you guys to an adventurer party. I'm sure they'll be happy to carry you guys as long as you pull your own weight. Also, if I ask, they will also provide you with some of their extra equipment."

As Arwan was trying to think of another excuse, Femi placed his arm on Arwan's shoulders.

"Don't worry. If Alicia's right, we'll just support them from the sidelines. You trust Alicia, right? She's decided to support the genesis of our journey; she feels like we're worth investing in. Do you really want to let her down?" Femi motivated.

"W-well, no." Arwan whispered.

"Arwan~ The earlier the better," Alicia added with a wink towards Arwan.

Arwan body tingled and he felt like he could give his body in exchange for the wink. Reluctantly, he said, "Argh... Fine!"

'Heh, who knew Arwan would be this easy to manipulate? I should get a pretty lady to join the crew too. It'll definitely help me in the long run,' Femi secretly smirked at the thought.

"Splendid~ I'm sure you cuties will do great!" Alicia's eyes gleamed. "You guys stay nearby. I'll have them come around the area. They are a very nice bunch. I'm sure you'll love them!"

"Thank you, Miss Alicia. Ehhh, you can get my contact so you can notify us when they're here," Arwan's face had a pleased look but inwardly he was throwing a tantrum.

After thinking a bit, Arwan realized what he had put himself into and was acquiesced with how things ended up. 'This is the effect of puberty!' Arwan proclaimed inwardly.

Meanwhile, Femi was glad at the thought of hunting.

'All those years of practice will finally be of use. Most especially, I get to use a real sword. Hehehe HAHAHA,' Femi cackled inwardly.

With all things settled, the duo decided to go back to Rimora and wait for Alicia to contact them.

*****

The duo had been waiting for a while; it was almost noon and they were both - for different reasons - waiting for Alicia's message.

Femi was trying to get more familiar with the controls and uses of the captain's panel when Arwan walked into the bridge.

"Miss Alicia contacted. She said we should meet them in front of the city entrance close to the Alliance HQ," Arwan said with a stern voice.

"Come on now. Don't be like this. We would have gone hunting sooner or later; we simply just brought it sooner," Femi was trying to fix things with Arwan. Femi accepting Alicia's offer was not so accepted by Arwan. It was a rash decision and if things were not done properly, they could die. Minor mistakes could cost lives, not only when encountering Evolved Creatures but also when dealing with individuals. This was how the world of a wanderer, adventurer, and explorer worked. And Arwan felt that Femi was underestimating this world.

"You said you're not a fighter. Alicia said there would be no problem equipment-wise, so you'll definitely be in a mecha camping behind the vanguard. If harm comes your way, it'll have to break through hunks of metal first and I'll come help you if a situation like that occurs," Femi spoke with a tone that was gradually being filled with amusement.

'Ahhh, the thought still riles me up,' Femi whispered to himself.

A simple 'tch,' which was Arwan's reply, told Femi how much Arwan wanted to avoid this whole scenario.

'Well, he had this coming,' Femi justified inwardly. "We'll take the hover bike. I hope you've fixed your bodysuit well," Arwan's dark voice sounded.

"Yeah, yeah," Femi waved his hand as he walked to the cargo.

"Good, because I'm not so obliged to rescue you when the situation calls," Arwan asserted.

Femi, who was already ahead in the hallway, laughed so hard that, hearing the laughter from the bridge, Arwan stood.

"That fool. So ignorant," Arwan said to himself.

*****

A few minutes later.

Going to the city entrance was a short journey for the duo. It was situated a few distances from the entrance to the landing spot where Rimora was currently parked, and the distance between the two spots was measured by the straight road. They would have walked there, but for extra purposes, Arwan suggested taking the bike.

Femi and Arwan were both wearing their masks to serve as headgear. The masks were useful for different purposes. Arriving at the gate, they immediately spotted those they were to meet standing under the shade of the walls.

"Hey! Are you the novices?" a yell sounded from one of the three fellows standing under the shade.

Arwan deviated from the road a bit, parked the bike at the side of the road and close to the figures.

As the duo took off their masks, Arwan replied:

"Yes, we are. Nice to meet you." Verifying the duo's identity, the three also walked out.

Leading the other two was a fat man seemingly in his early 30s and had a height of around six feet. He had brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes. His face was oval; he also had strands of beards and a moustache. He wore a shirt that wasn't completely buttoned up and had his pants tucked in his belly well.

On the man's right was a five-foot-eight tall woman with white smooth skin. She had black hair that was packed into ponytails and purple eyes. She wore a brown jacket and blue jeans. Unlike the man, she was armed with a pistol that was holstered to her jeans. Her face was of the quiet type.

And on the left of the man was a lady that was five-foot-ten. She had short green hair and green eyes. Her skin tone was grey. She had gills on her neck, sharp teeth, and green webbed fingers. She wore a gown that almost reached her knees along with short trousers worn underneath. If not for the man leading them, one would think she was the boss.

"Whoa," Femi's face contorted in surprise.

The fish-like lady saw his face and sharply growled:

"Hey. Why are you looking at me creepily? Quit staring, or I'll shove my fist in your mouth."

"Haha, cut the kid some slack, Eva. It's not every day a person sees your race," the man said. "Ignore her, kids. She can be like that sometimes, but amongst the three of us, she likes kids the most. Heh heh."

Arwan took charge and nodded for both Femi and himself.

"Forgive my partner too. He can be jumpy at times."

"What? She looks cool, though," Femi replied.

Changing the topic, Arwan began the introduction:

"I'm Arwan, and this rash fellow here is Femi."

"Femi Noma. Nice to meet you."

A soft chuckle of amusement left the man's mouth as he said:

"You kids are interesting. Miss Alicia was right; I think I'll like y'all. I'm Gallagher. Ehhh… This beauty at my right is Ruth, and this...."

"I'm Eva," Eva interrupted.

"Hello," Ruth's low voice coursed through the air.

As the introductions were over, Femi slowly approached Eva with curiosity.

"Miss Eva, you look really cool! How do the neck thingy work? How do the fingers feel?"

"Would you step back a little, kid? We came here for other reasons! Let's get to the point!" Eva yelled as she shoved Femi to make distance from him.

"Femi, respect her space and shift back," Arwan instructed.

Femi turned his neck to look at Arwan, then looked back at Eva, and shrugged, "Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I'm not so good at controlling my emotions. Don't blame me."

Gallagher laughed again before he said, "Don't be like that! Curiosity is also a good thing. The world wouldn't be the way it is without curiosity. It's also a thing of youth!" Moving onto business, he added, "Anyways, Eva's right. We did meet to talk about something. So, let's move on to the main topic."

Femi stepped back a bit, standing right beside Arwan. He was the one to reply to Gallagher.

"How is this hunt going to go?"