Preparing for the Quest

After the short discussion and catching up, everyone then went about scanning the building that was about to become our guild's base. There were five floors, but each floor was as wide as two entire soccer fields lined up side-by-side. Due to its wide area, it took quite a while before they completed the survey.

The first floor was nothing but a recreational area for the front half, with an entire gym facility on the latter half. With the number of supplies available, more than 20 people could train there at the same time.

The second floor, connected through a grand staircase right beside the entrance, was where the office and other important management facilities were. It was so wide, but so empty, given that we are simply a guild without much paperwork to do.

The third floor to the fifth floor was where individual rooms were set. Each floor has roughly 20 rooms, so the entire building could hold 60 in-house tenants at most. Furthermore, each room was designed with individual showers and comfort rooms.

"This building is great. Toki, nice choice!" Lily raised a thumb to Toki, who returned it with a suave grin.

Mina and Hailey were both smiling, coming from the back of the first floor. As they approached, Mina turned to us and praised the facilities. "The gym even has all the machines and equipment we need. I've got nothing to complain about here."

On the other hand, I didn't go around with them but instead checked the basement. As expected, there were only two divisions there, one to be used as a storage or warehouse, and the other to be refurbished as a workshop. The forge wasn't complete, though, so I can't use this place for crafting yet.

For the warehouse side, the back area was modified so that large items could be delivered using an elevator that is connected to the back of the building. The inside was completely empty, however. I was hoping there were some sort of gift left for us here, but well, I guess I was hoping for too much.

From what I could see, as long as the forge is added, I am satisfied with this location too.

After checking out the new building, the next task for us would be to prepare for the outing that I suggested. After all, the area we were going to was already beyond the "allowable" exploration area given our levels.

"We can go there now, though." Toki countered my words. "After all, we have four with second class change and one who got her third class change."

Apparently, after the fight with the otherworldly octopus boss monster, Kaede gained a class up and reached 3rd class up, and at level 2. She became a Black Lightning Witch, and with the bonuses she gained, she's about twice as powerful as she was before.

Mina stayed in her class, but her level increased to 8. Just a bit more, and she would be able to change classes too. Hailey was able to safely finish her second class change, earning the rare class Vorpal Lancer, and now she was at level 6. As a bonus for her class, she gained 200% bonus damage from frontal attacks, tripling her damage output.

Lily reached the threshold too, and class upped to a Sainted Monk, stopping at level 1. Not only were her healing powers increased, but even her defense became stronger than ever.

Finally, Toki had managed to class up into a Tricolor Mage Lv. 1. Apparently, it was another rare class, enabling her to command not only fire, wind, and water but also any elements derived from the three or a combination of the three.

Before I noticed, I was now the lowest-leveled member in the guild once more. It's a little bit disheartening, especially since I have no idea why I wasn't leveling up. However, on the other hand, it's true that I was also happy knowing that we're becoming more powerful than before.

"Alright. Then, there are no changes in the plan. In an hour, we'll be heading for the underground mall where we fought the octopus boss!"

The boss, similar to the insectoid monsters, had no name even after checking them with the system. I guess that's due to them coming from another world, but I was hoping the system would assign them names at least. It's a little bit hard to call it the octopus boss all the time.

Just like that, everyone started preparing, as I had asked. This time, even Kaede went on to wear her battle clothes—a long black and silver coat over her usual casual clothes, matched with black, leather, open-finger gloves.

The girls, on the other hand, wore the same attire they had before—the armor that I made for them and was up for testing. Toki was the only one who changed her armor, wearing something like silver synthetic suit armor that covered her from the neck down completely. It wasn't skintight, but it still followed her every curve. Over it, she added a robe similar to Kaede's, but hers was of a grayish color instead.

It didn't even take 30 minutes before everyone finished their preparations. For the remaining time, we then discussed our formation and the strategy we'd be following.

"I'll only be protecting Hiro. Everyone else, protect yourselves," Kaede declared before any other arrangements could be made.

"..." I was about to scold her again, but upon seeing her serious expression, I kept my mouth shut.

Twice, I was brought to the brink of death. One time I was hurt by the beetle boss and was saved by Toki. During that time, she lamented the fact that she couldn't protect me. During the fight with the Octopus boss, however, she was present but was still unable to avert me from harm. I heard that it was her potion that saved me, so I'm really thankful to Kaede for that.

"Sister Kaede, unfortunately, protecting Ruin isn't your job. It's Lily's job to ensure our safety, while you and I only need to focus on our job as DPS," Toki explained, trying to relieve some of her visible guilt.

Kaede simply stared at Toki and frowned. "... Don't call me sister."

"Eh~?" Toki, seeing that Kaede had returned to her usual self a little, had a teasing smile on her face. "We're going to be members of the same guild. Aren't we like a family already~?"

"Listen here, you brats..." Kaede's voice became lower as an intimidating air started coming out of her.

With a single tug, she pulled me into her embrace, tightening her hold over my neck. My head was pressed against her chest, making it hard to speak.

"Mahiro is mine! I will never give him to others, especially not to brats like you!"

I was trying to pull my head out of her hold, but I couldn't even make her budge. Is this the difference in class stages? I feel helpless against her right now, really.

While I was thinking that the girls would back down from her intimidation, the air suddenly turned fierce, as if a battle would ensue any moment now.

"Really? And where were you when he was maimed by the beetle boss back in the forest a while ago?" Toki's retort made Kaede grimace.

As the one responsible for saving me back then, Kaede can't really talk back against her regarding that incident.

"But I saved him a few days ago!" Kaede raised her voice, emphasizing that without her, I would've been in grave trouble back then.

Lily raised her hand, and her cute mouth turned into a frown. "That, weren't we all there? I think it's considered a team effort and not an individual achievement."

"Ugh...!"

Lily did have a point. Without them, defeating the boss would be impossible. And without defeating the boss, we would've all ended up dead then and there. Claiming that she alone was responsible for saving me was not only selfish but also irresponsible.

Noticing that her hold had loosened, I quickly extracted myself from her arm and moved a few steps away. "Just to make it clear, I'm not yours, alright? And if I level up a few more times, then you'd all be weaker than me, stat-wise, so I don't need your protection either!"

However, the problem was that I couldn't level up at all. Anyway, I can slowly figure out the reason later. For now, our priority is to find a way to harness this World Fragment and create a device that could either open portals, close them, or both.

"Anyway, if we're all done with preparations, then let's go! The formation would be the same when we were facing the octopus boss."

I quickly explained before walking out of the building entirely. I stood at the gate, letting the warmth of the sun seep into my body. While waiting for the others, I suddenly recalled Kyouya's halberd that I had left inside my storage.

"... I'll just call a courier to have it delivered."

Seeing that the girls weren't coming out yet, I decided to make a quick phone call for a delivery. About two minutes later, a moped with a large carrier box behind it came. I paid upfront and asked for him to deliver the halberd to Kyouya's address along with a small note.

The delivery man left after a short exchange, rushing toward the place of delivery.

As if waiting for him to go away, the girls then left the building, finally, and approached. Seeing that they weren't at each other's throats anymore, I realized that they must've talked it out during the short time I wasn't there.

"Well then, let's go!" At the lead, I started walking, heading for the City Ruins' Gate A.