Story III / Part XV: Before The Red Dawn (III)

The discussion continued and Zikiya asked Jack about Gremlin, Forest Giant and Troll, whether they exist in the forest below us or not. Jack said there is no Gremlin inside the forest because the location of the forest itself is far from the nearest human settlements, so it's normal if you didn't meet Gremlin and Goblin here.

Well…in my opinion he is technically correct. On the first place, Gremlin isn't far different from Goblin.

One thing that makes them different is their interest. Gremlins like shining things rather than women. Jack also said Gremlin would go hunting for women if their mating season comes, but if not, they will continue finding shining things such as gold, jewelry, armor, etc., so they won't live on the area where there is no human settlement nearby.

Lastly, he informed us that Rania's underlings spotted Forest Giant and Troll in northern forest only, so we don't have to worry about them roaming in the southern forest. Well, that piece of information makes me feel ease at my heart, because we will be at a disadvantage if we fight them inside the forest. I prefer to fight them in open land rather than secluded area with limited battle space like forest.

"Alright, all of you please make small parties that consist of every class and explore the northern side, every party must go to different area and don't explore the villages. The rest of you may go to southern forest or just guard this place. If you encounter any danger that you think you couldn't defeat, please run without hesitation and go back here. Your life is more important than EXP, now do you understand that Robert, Tim and Erick?"

Erick glances away, "Yes, yes…I know, whatever."

"Robert and Jack, both of you go to northern forest. Erick, Julio, Tim follow me. I'll also ask the others."

"Ehhh…Kaichou I don't wanna…" said Tim and Erick with cute tone.

"You know what happened last time I leave both of you to "guard" a base?"

Suddenly, a picture of memory flashes inside Haru's mind. A memory of a series of explosion followed by a firestorm that burn two large buildings to ashes. On the pavement, there are many people that have been standing and staring at the burning building with surprised, panicked or scared expression. From the panicked crowd there is a lone young man with white hair, which is none other than the party leader of [White Falcon] crying while staring at the buildings and murmuring, "my base…"

"Ehehehehe…." After hearing that, Tim is embarrassed and he rubbed his back head while Erick glanced away.

Yuna glances at me, "Then, where will you go Kaichou?"

"Honestly, I'd like to spend this day to rest since my back is still hurt, ugh...But I need to find Guild Master and other parties since they still haven't sent a message to me yet. Alright, meeting dismissed."

After the meeting dismissed, we returned to our room and prepared everything that we need for exploration. Unlike my party members, I don't need long time to prepare everything since I have stored every items that I need in my storage before departing from the kingdom. I returned to my room only to pick extra leather armor set, throwing spears and few spare swords. I heard a sound of footstep entering my room when I picked the spears from cupboard.

"Haru-san, are you going to western side of the mountain?"

"Oh, Ayumi-san…Yes, I'll go there. I remembered [North Wind of Liberation] has chosen a place above waterfall as their hideout. Oh right, you will go with me."

"Eh? Are you inviting me? Normally, you would tell me to house sitting in every adventure we did on the past."

I walk to her, "Toval will go with Rubert to Northern Forest. I need more Warrior to deal raw damage. Although, I don't like to bring you into dangerous situation."

"Geez…please don't treat me like a kid, Haru-san. I can protect myself you know…" She blushed a little.

I grabbed both of her hands, "I don't like my loved one injured because me, you know?"

"Heeeh…look, look! Kaichou is flirting with Ayumi in a middle of mission, how jealous…" Luna peeked from behind of the door. There are Yuna and Toval that have been standing behind her.

Ayumi quickly pulled her hand back, "Eh, Luna-san, Yuna-san, Toval-san?! Since when you all there?!"

"Since the beginning, hehe…" said Luna while rubbing her head.

"How jealous, I want a boyfriend or fiancée like that mwwuuu…!" Yuna flustered.

"Why the two of you aren't going out with me?" said Toval that stands behind them.

"NO." Instant reply from both of them.

"Most likely, you will sneak attack and peek us when we are bathing, changing cloth or sleeping. I bet you will leave us when a danger comes." Said Luna with sarcastic tone.

Toval rubs his head, "Damn…"

When I returned from my room to main hall, the Squad Leaders have finished their briefing and they have divided everyone into 25 teams with six people in one group. Three teams will be act as "Base Guard" until we came back from our exploration. Most of the members here want to explore the new places to raise their level and battle experience. So, we need to make a lottery to decide which one from us will guard the base. I laughed a little when I saw the faces of my party members who lost on the lottery. They really want to go that they begged me to add them in exploration teams.

But rules are rules. I just can't send everyone to explore the area around us because there will be no one who will guard the base. If there is a party member who is gravely injured and they need an immediate treatment, we need peoples in the base or else their wound will be worsened. It's true that we can just teleported back and treat them, but what if something happened that makes The Healers can't return to the base? After I explained that, the ones who will be guarding the place nodded although I can still feel that they really want to go. So, I allowed them to go if there is one of the groups decided to return to base and take a break from their exploration.

"Alright, as I recall, Julio is a [Paladin], Ayumi is a [Prodigy], Tim is a [Warlord], Erick is a [Prankster], Luna is a [Battlemage] and Zikiya is a [Battlepriest]. Am I wrong here?"

All of them shook their head after I asked that. Well, I believe I have added the people that I need to balance out my party composition. A healing type defender, one debuff type vanguard, one assassin type scout, combat caster, area supporter, all out supporter, and battle healer. Let's see…if I need another person again or not.

Julio is [Paladin]. Paladin is a [ ————— Class] that originates from Cathedral's Knights that serve a Divine or Demonic Guardian Deity (God). Meanwhile, the [Paladin] Class who serves the Evil Gods or Deities is called [Dark Paladin]. If someone wants to become a Paladin, they need to take [Knight] as their base class. They also need to be proficient in [Sword and Shield]. They can take [Paladin] Class if they have mastered all Knight Class' skills and abilities then pledge their loyalty to serve "The God" that they chose to serve. Other than that, they also must have [Alignment] similar to the [Alignment] their God has.

However, after A.E.V I somehow the [Alignment System] is rewritten by The Maker, or so what those priests said, [Personal Alignment] requirement for [Paladin] Class became [Optional]. I realized that now all people on the world have two alignments, one as their personal trait and one for the class that they took. According to the Elementalism Religion's Archbishops, one is only allowed to behave according to the [Alignment] they harbor. Well, I don't really understand what they say, but I remember when I saved a girl that fell into a river without asking anything in return, I got a [PENALTY] notification in my [Status Screen] and the EXP that I got from saving her was cut down into half. Besides that, I learnt the requirements of Paladin Class somehow become more difficult. It's written, if someone intends to become a [Paladin], they need to have both [Knight] and [Priest] Class. Therefore, those who have either Knight or Priest as their base class can take another class to become a [Paladin] if they have mastered all base class's skills, spells and abilities. Lastly, [Paladin] Class can make someone able to heal their comrades, buffing them, defending them against attacks, purifying (purging) evil spirits, repelling demons, dispelling magic and reviving the fallen comrades.

Next is [Prodigy], a [Unique ————— Class] that Ayumi took. [Prodigy] is a combination class between [Warrior], [Academist] and [Assassin]. Almost all of the [Warrior] Classes, except [Knight], [Berserker], [Defender], [Archer], and [Fighter] can become a [Prodigy]. There are no specific requirements to become a [Prodigy] like you need to have a specific alignment or using a specific type of weapon. However, someone needs to master all [Warrior], [Academist], and [Assassin] Class' skills and abilities at the same time, at least until S or EX Rank skill and ability level. They aren't allowed to use their [RA] [Racial Abilities] and [RS] [Racial Skills] to speed up their mastery time or doubling their skill or ability's EXP obtained from using them over times.

In addition, someone who wants to take [Prodigy] also required to create three [OS] [Original Skills] for their [Warrior], [Academist] and [Assassin] Class at the end of their training. However, if someone took [Prodigy Challenge] to become a Prodigy, in the end of their training, they will get a lot of skills and abilities as "extra bonuses" from finishing this challenge. Meanwhile, [Prodigy Challenge] itself is a challenge that forces someone who took [Prodigy Class] to complete their training in certain amount of duration and the duration that they will get from taking this challenge is random. So, it depends on your luck and once you have taken this challenge, you can't cancel it until your training duration time is over. I remember Ayumi luckily got two Eelvariash to finishing this challenge even though after finished her challenge, Ayumi was hospitalized for two movanth after excessive usage of [Mana] and [Stamina] in her training.

This [ ————— Class] is rarely taken by anyone because the hardships that they must undergo to complete this class' requirements, the hardship is so bad that people labelled this class only meant for masochists. Nevertheless, once you completed the requirements, [Prodigy] Class offers unique skills, combat tactics, abilities and combat techniques that defy common sense and logic since this [ ————— Class] used [Academist] as its base class. Meanwhile, [Academist] Class itself is one from ten of the [Fifth Rank Specialization of Mage Class] that allows someone to create a "thaumaturgy" or "phenomenon" according to [The Gods' Laws and Supremacies], [The World's Laws], and their own "logic". I honestly don't know what kind of lecture that instructors teach to the students who take [Academist] as their Mage Class's [Fifth Rank Specialization].

[Warlord] is the [ ————— Class] that was chosen by Tim. [Warlord] is a combination class between [Berserker] and [Warlock], two classes that will exhaust your body and mana in instant. People said [Warlord] is the worst possible combination [ ————— Class] ever, but after they witnessed the true strength of [Warlord] Class in late A.E.V I Era, some finally took an interest to try this class. Unfortunately, the testers ended up dying from either extreme mana exhaustion, brain explosion, body explosion or overran by monsters because they lacked of self-control, mana control and knowledge of this class.

Leaving that aside, [Warlord] able to cast multiple spells with ridiculous power and mana consumption, so it's a common sight if you see a [Warlord] exhausted after they launch three or five spells in quick succession. Besides that, [Warlord] boast high [DMG Multiplier] on every spell they launched or close combat attack they did on an enemy. Again, someone can only become a good and fearsome [Warlord] if they have "self-control" and know how to properly adjust their mana usage. For the [Warlord] Class's requirement, someone needs to have [Chaotic Evil] as their [Personal Alignment]. However, after A.E.V I, similar with [Paladin] Class case, this requirement became [Optional] only and changed into [Chaotic] Alignment only. On exception of [Chaotic Good] Alignment because someone with that alignment isn't allowed to become a [Warlord].

Erick is a [Prankster] a [ ————— Class] that requires someone to have [Chaotic Neutral] Alignment, both [Personal] and [Class] one. The requirements also state that someone needs to have both of [Thief] and [Alchemist] class. A [Prankster] is an expert at making potion and poison, dangerous drugs or the safe one, making and disarming traps, infiltration, explosion, buffing allies or debuffing enemies with chemical potions, dissolving metal or rock door, gate or wall and many others. This class is more like [Support] Type rather than [Offensive] Type one since both of [Thief] and [Alchemist] Class doesn't have any notorious or dangerous combat skills. But I think Erick is different, he is a type of [Prankster] who loves to dispose his enemies fast, but with the worst ways possible. I often see him joining the battle rather than hiding in shadow, which is strange for a [Prankster]. Outside of battle, when he is idle Erick loves to conducting dangerous or strange experiments and using his friends as a "test subjects". Other than that, maybe put one or two pranks on us. On special occasion, I witnessed he created metal weapons from empty air and then rained them to the enemies.

Then, Luna is a [Battlemage] a [ ————— Class] that allows a Mage to wear heavy armor and use heavy weapon to attack their enemies without worry about receiving a high percentage of [PENALTY] point on their EXP or Status. As you can see…normally, a Mage will receive a [PENALTY] if they are wearing metal armor and using metal weapon rather than Staff, Orb, Card, Wand, Pike, Rod, Book, Scroll, Canvas, Tome, Musical Instrument Devices, Grimoire, Brush or Racket. The [PENALTY] that will they receive is either [Magic Damage Reduction], [Magic Resistance Reduction], [Spell Failure Percentage], [Movement Speed Down] and many others. But if they choose to become a [Battlemage] this kind of [PENALTY] Status Reductions can be suppressed from 50% to 100% of the user's status.

If someone wants to become a [Battlemage], they need to become a [Mage] first and reach at least the [Fourth Rank Specialization of Mage Classes], but it's recommended to reach [Fifth Rank Specialization] instead since the [Fifth Rank Specialization] offer vast specialization of skills and abilities before taking one or two of [Warrior] Classes. On other hand, [Battlemage] and [Arcane Warrior] are almost same, what makes them different is the base class that someone needs to take and combat technique that the user uses. For example, [Battlemage] priorities [Mage] as the base class while [Arcane Warrior] priorities [Warrior] as the base class. A [Battlemage] prefers to use spell and close combat fight while an [Arcane Warrior] prefers to enchant their weapon and armor with their spells to eliminate their enemies. But of course, their [CS] [Class Skills] and [CA] [Class Abilities] are vastly different to each other. I remember [Battlemage]'s class skills have short cooldown and casting time while [Arcane Warrior]'s class skills dealt higher physical and magical damage to the enemies.

Next is Zikiya with her [Battlepriest] [ ————— Class]. Just imagine combining [Paladin], [Battlemage], and [Arcane Warrior] into one and you will get this class. Originally, someone needs to have [Warrior], [Assassin], [Priest], [Healer] and [Enchanter] Class if they want to become a [Battlepriest] with [Priest] as base class. However, it isn't required to take all of [Warrior Classes] at once since only one class is needed. Other requirement, is to have [Lawful Good], [Lawful Neutral], or [Neutral Good] as [Personal Alignment] to become a [Battlepriest], or [Lawful Evil] for the servant of Evil Gods. I once heard a story from the Guild Master when he fought against a [Battlepriest] that served the Pride Demon Gods that had [Chaotic Evil] Alignment, which is unlikely and strange for someone who took that class. Leaving that aside, [Battlepriest Class] boasts high [DMG Multiplier] against enemies with [Humanoid] and [Demonic] Trait. Moreover, they can do all jobs from healing until buffing their allies better than a [Paladin].

Lastly is me, I'm an [Assassin]. [Assassin] is one of the three [Fifth Specialization Classes] for [Rogue Class] with [Melee] combat style. Well, originally [Assassin] Class was garbage or underdog class that only allows the user to sneak and assassinate, which is useless if the enemy has a skill or ability that can spot you. Moreover, their [CRIT DMG] can only be dealt if they succeed sneak attacking the enemy. But this garbage class slowly becomes stronger when an unknown person wrote a book of "Assassin Class" and spread it around the world. The book itself contains many things that aren't showed in your [Status Screen] when you become an [Assassin]. With this book, [Assassin] Class slowly changed into powerful class that can do anything without [PENALTY] and [Restrictions]. At the end of A.E.V I, [Assassin] Class becomes one and only class that has an equal level with all [ ————— Class]. So, if someone took this class, most likely they wouldn't "rank up" to the [Sixth Specialization], which is the [ ————— Class] because this class provided the users with everything they need. Moreover, [Assassin] Class offers many powerful skills, talents, traits, and abilities that have ridiculous effects. For example [Throwing Dagger] Skill has high [DPS DMG] and the damage will multiply everytime your dagger hit the enemy. This calculation also includes the [CRIT DMG], [RT] [Racial Trait], [RA] [Racial Ability], [Buff], [CA] [Class Ability], and [Blessing] of a person. In addition, one of the requirements to take this class is easy, someone needs to have [Neutral Evil] as their [Personal Alignment] but like in [Paladin] case, this is only [Optional].

I closed my [Status Screen] and raised my head. I asked Ayumi, Julio, Tim, Erick, Luna and Zikiya whether they are ready or not and they replied with a nod. Then, I walked to the entrance with them and passed the "base-sitting" group. I asked Zen, Miguel, Jill, Eddy, Vania, Eriel, Hime and Cynthia to guard the base in my stead and report to me if something happens. They nodded weakly to me with disappointed face, but I promised them that they are allowed to go after another group returned. After hearing that, they jumped in joy and smiled widely.