[Jaegal Forest, Elven Territory, 34 miles from Lunia]
One month had passed since the Veiled Bazaar.
[Willem Pourshield - Lv. 6 Acolyte]
[Moe - Lv. 6 Beginner Rank Magical Beast]
Willem had grown wiser, dwelling intensely in studying the [Blood Arrow] spell.
[Vanessa Tyrien - Lv. 7 Acolyte]
Vanessa had practiced swordsmanship intensely, as the bruises on her body indicated. The effect of the Soul Forge Draught were undeniable though. Her body was even stronger than Greem's, who had the blood of a rank 1 magical beast flowing in his veins.
As for Greem, he had also used this time to train, study and teach her little sister consistently.
[Greem Southport - Lv. 7 Beginner Rank Acolyte (1867 / 800 EXP -Cannot level up due to bloodline maturity. Estimated time before breakthrough: 48 days)
Strength - 7 | Agility - 4 | Vitality - 6 | MagicPower - 7
Perks: Grade IV Shadow Elemental Affinity, Shadow Wyvern Bloodline
Spells: Dark Illusion (86), Shadow Hand (72), Ombre Curse (40), Shadow Cloak (30), Shadow Arrow (15)
Skills: Shadow Elemental Knowledge (85), Magical Knowledge (65), Swordsmanship (55), Curse Knowledge (15), Crossbow Mastery (12)
Miscellaneous skills: Accounting (65), Eloquence (45), Charm (36), Trade (20), Tracking (12)
Magical Artefact: Soul Ring [SSS], Thread of Fate Pendant (+1 Perception) [Low-grade Rank 0]]
However, the group of 3 elite beginner rank acolytes from the Black Widow Association had only stabilised their strength since the Veiled Bazaar. They had not completed any outstanding mission, and stayed relatively quiet.
It was not unusual for acolytes. In fact, it was the norm. Why risk your life when you could just stabilise and grow stronger in the regular way?
They needed no new funds.
They did not lack experience.
Greem could have pushed for more missions to accumulate experience, but daily training was enough to provide him with enough EXP. The last events, and his defeat against Malakoff, also showed him how important knowledge was.
The Inferno tattoo that was embedded on his chest was a stain on his clean record of mission. A sword of Damocles that could claim his life in his sleep, if Malakoff was ever unsatisfied with his performance.
On a daily basis, Greem would invest hours studying the intricate art of curse knowledge. But despite a month passing, his understanding only grew to 15 points of proficiency, a far cry from the 40 points he required.
If it were a regular curse, he could go to Elizabeth and pay the appropriate price to break the curse. However, that would blow up his identity and raise her suspicions. After all, only members of the Black Skull Sect had this tattoo.
After he gave information about the sect, many acolytes from the Black Widow Association went, and lost their lives in the process. Even Ronnie was dispatched, but spent two weeks in the catacombs battling murlocs and giant spiders, finding nothing.
Thanks to Greem communicating, the Black Skull Sect only showed activity when the timing was right and no intermediate acolyte left Lunia. A perfect plan that rewarded him with reputation gain with the Black Skull Sect, and thinned the numbers of the Black Widow Association, therefore increasing the value of his Blood Bat party.
Speaking of which, he had accepted a green star mission for the first time in a while, located quite far away from Lunia: The Jaegal Forest, part of the elven territory.
The Jaegal Forest was one of the forbidden territories around Lunia, avoided by merchants and soldiers alike. Rumours spoke of whispered secrets, of trees stood like silent sentinels, of their bark etched with runes older than most kingdoms. Willem debunked some of those rumours, but confirmed that Ents truly existed, and were one of the reason why the Pourshield, his vampire clan, was always at war with the elves.
It was here, in the heart of this untamed land, that the Blood Bats party had been tracking their prey for over a week. And the party had accepted a fourth member.
[Carla Southport - Lv. 2 Acolyte]
Greem's own little sister. A prodigy in magic, who learned her first spell in just one month. Since contributions to the association were mandatory, Greem tutored her and accepted her in his party. The payout was not great, but they all needed to get some exercise anyway.
[Green Star Mission - Luminous Deer Capture
Acolyte Hwan Steel, one of the relative of Angus Steel, leader of the Black Crow Party, rumoured to be the strongest within the Association, made a request to the Association. As a dwarf with nature elemental affinity, he decided to use his funds to acquire a magical beast and attempt to contract it. However, nature elemental beast are relatively rare, much less living ones.
Willem's knowledge of the area proposed to capture a Luminous deer, one of the weakest magical beast in the Jaegal forest, which can be found in its outskirts, limiting odds of encountering elven druids or ents.
Task: Capture a nature-elemental magical beast of beginner rank (0 / 1)
Rewards: 50 EXP for each member of the Blood Bat Party, 40 Magical Crystals, Reputation in the Black Widow Association]