63 New World XXVI

Six people were seated around a table. Four belonged to the Swords of Darkness- Peter, Ninya, Lukrut, and Dyne- and Two belonged to a new adventurer's team known as Darkness- Ramses and Enri.

"Let me introduce everyone; we call ourselves the Swords of Darkness. I'm Peter Mauk, the leader. Over to our left is our ranger, Lukrut Volve; he is our eyes and ears in the field."

Peter spoke while gesturing toward Lukrut, who had a silly smile while gazing at Enri.

"Haha, Hi." He spoke while raising his right hand.

"Our capable druid uses magic to heal and manipulate nature, Dyne Woodwonder." 

Dyne nodded with a faint smile when the newcomers looked toward him.

"Nice to meet you folks."

"And last but not least, there's the brains of the operation, our magic user, Ninya, the spell caster."

Peter continued while gesturing toward Ninya.

"Hey there." 

He replied shyly.

"Our Ninya here is a talent holder."

"That's impressive," I spoke in a surprised tone.

"That's right. He has a talent called 'Magic Affinity.' He's able to learn magic spells twice as fast as the average caster, isn't that right?" Peter continued while turning his head toward Ninya at the end.

"It's not like I did anything to deserve it. I'm lucky; a part of me feels this is a kind of unfair advantage." He spoke while looking down.

"Such modesty; he's a well-known talent holder here in E-Rantel, and we're proud to have him on our team." 

"I am a nobody, and there is a much more famous talent holder here in E-Rantel," Ninya spoke while trying to stir the conversation away from himself, and his tactic worked.

"That must be Master Bareare," Dyne added.

"Hmm, never heard of him. Ah, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce ourselves as well," I spoke while standing up from my chair.

"She is Enri and I am Ramses. Now, what kind of talent this Bareare guy has?" I spoke with genuine intrigue. I wanted to know if he had the same talent as he had in the original series. And if he had the same talent, I needed to have him for my evolution.

I had devised a plan to significantly alter my Bloodline CoE; doing so would remove the Level Limitation of 100 as well as make it possible for me to practice any PTP other than Leveling PTP.

"You don't know? Then there is absolutely no way you're from around here." Peter replied while sitting down on his chair. I also sat on my chair.

"That's correct. We just arrived here today."

"Well his name is Nfirea Bareare. He is the grandson of a well-known pharmacist, and his talent allows him to use any and all magical items without training or restriction."

'So he does have the same talent.' Now that I know he possesses the same talent, I'll contact someone from Nazarick to abduct him and relocate him to our base.

I needed to relocate him for another purpose other than for my evolution. This was somewhat important for my future plans for this world.

"That truly is impressive," I spoke in an amazed tone.

"Now then, I am sure you are wondering why we need your help. Our current objective is to destroy some bandit camps around the town. There have been a lot of incidents involving bandits, so the reward is pretty good." 

"Hmm, bandit hunting? You were hired to hunt bandits?" I asked in a baffled tone. 

"That's correct. Due to the increased presence of monsters in the nearby regions, most of the monster-hunting contracts have been claimed by higher-ranked adventurers. Additionally, the soldiers are also occupied with monster threats. As a result, requests related to bandit extermination have been accumulating for the past week. That's why we decided to tackle one of them," Peter casually explained as he reclined in his chair.

"I get it now," I spoke while nodding my head. This could also work in my favor to quickly raise my ranking.

"So, what's the game plan then?"

"Our plan is to start clearing out the forest south of the town tomorrow while making our way up north. So, are you interested in joining us? The experience will help you rise above a copper plate."

"Sure, we're happy to come along," I answered in a friendly manner. This brought smiles to the faces of the Swords of Darkness members.

"One thing, I should show you all my face since we will be working together," I spoke while taking off my helmet.

What they saw was an illusion made by the armor- a beautifully chiseled face with golden blonde hair and eyes. This was the face of Ramses, one of the NPCs on the 11th floor of Nazarick.

All of them were shocked for a few seconds before their bearing returned.

"Ah, interesting; I've never seen that eye color here," Peter spoke while inspecting my eyes.

"I've heard of a country south of here where that eye color is common, but you're the first I met in person," Dyne spoke in a laid-back manner.

'He is more attractive than I thought; no wonder a dame like Enri is by his side,' Lukrut thought while gazing at my chiseled face. 

He thought I didn't notice, but I knew his thought process.

"I have been hiding my face since we came to town. Sometimes, people have issues with foreigners, and I didn't want to stir up trouble," I spoke while putting my helmet back on.

"That's understandable," Peter spoke while nodding.

"Just out of curiosity, but what type of partners are you two exactly?" Lukrut asked loudly while getting up from his seat and raising his right hand.

This earned him a collective sigh from his teammates.

"We're allies," I casually replied while looking at him.

"That's wonderful because I am in love," He spoke while making exaggerated poses.

"Say, wanna go out on a date with me?" He spoke while kneeling at Enri's side.

"No."

She replied coldly, while not even looking toward him.

"That kind of honest response is so rare these days," He spoke while spinning, also in an exaggerated manner.

"You're right; we should start as friends."

He spoke while sitting down in his chair, expecting a reply from Enri, but she never replied.

"Now then, we shall discuss the departure details," I spoke while gazing at Peter.

"Agreed," He nodded and continued, "Because it's late in the day, it's best to leave early tomorrow. If it's fine with you and Enri, then we'd like to leave at the first-morning bell."

"I have no problem with that," I replied while nodding.

"We'll be waiting by the town's main gate then," Peter said while getting up from his chair; his other members followed suit.

I also got up from my seat, and Enri followed suit.

"Then see you tomorrow," I spoke while offering my hand to Peter.

"Likewise," He replied while shaking my hand.

"Can you please tell us about a good inn?" I asked Peter while exiting the guild.

"Seeing as you are just getting started as adventurers, it wouldn't be wise to spend your money on an expensive inn," Dyne spoke in a sagely manner.

"I agree, you should head that way; a good inn at the end of the street is affordable and cheap," Peter said, pointing toward north.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow then," I walked away from the group while bidding them farewell.

"Likewise," Peter spoke while moving in the opposite direction.

The streets were filled with common folks, merchants, soldiers, and adventurers. Because it was nearly evening, people were busy closing their shops, and adventurers were moving toward pubs and inns.

'Hmm, who is he?' One person stuck out to me like a sore thumb. He had blond hair and pink eyes and strongly resembled Clementine. His clothes and equipment were weird and looked expensive. And his presence was different from typical people and adventurers.

'Interesting,' 

I thought while looking at him entering an expensive inn. Nothing jumped out to me about his identity. This required some investigation.

"Let's hurry," I spoke to Enri while increasing my pace.

~Scene Change~

Because it was near evening, the inn was filled with adventurers. Two figures stood before the counter.

"How much for a night?" Ramses asked the man behind the counter.

"5 Copper and food is not included."

Spoke the fat man with a disgusting, overgrown, and unkempt beard.

"That's fine," I spoke while taking out 10 Copper coins and tossing them toward him.

"Hmm, your room is on the top floor, number is 35," He said while tossing the keys toward me. I picked up the key and moved toward the stairs. 

While moving toward the stairs, I noticed Brita. I decided not to bother her because she didn't have a massive role in the original series.

Moving inside my room, I sat on one of the beds. The inside was shabby, with only a table, a chair, and 2 beds. Everything was in shambles.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Sorry for short chapter, I am busy with exam preparations.