"So... what did you do before coming here, Althea?" Giles asked with a curious tone; he turned his head away, not meeting Althea’s gaze.
"Me? Uhm... I was a baker. I don’t really remember exactly the details." Althea replied, scratching her lower chin, trying to search for the little memories she could recollect.
"That is v-very cool! Ms. Althea. I’m sure y-you’re a great baker." Giles throws up a thumbs-up, despite his attempt to not make the situation awkward; the silence that follows clearly spells it out.
"How about you, Giles?" Althea tried following up, but it was quickly cut short by Captain Iron’s interruptions.
"You two, remember that we are on a dangerous mission right now. Any slip-ups can lead to your early demise." Iron warned, his voice authoritative, reminding these newbies of their current circumstance.
Hmm... come to think of it, I haven’t asked these heroes about their past. It might help give me some insight into this world.
Logan thought to himself before putting his hand firmly on Iron’s shoulder.
"It’s all good; I think this is a good team-building activity. If we can get to know each other a little more, it can build trust and good chemistry with one another," Logan said calmly, reassuring the other members to act comfortably.
"Let’s start with you, Captain Iron; tell us a little bit more about yourself." Logan turned the focus back on Iron, who looked clearly taken by surprise.
"Oh, uhm... I’m just an old man; there’s nothing interesting about me." Iron quickly dismissed the question, wanting to shift the focus to someone else.
"Aww... Come on, Captain, tell us a little about you." Maeve nudged, her small stature helping her sneak behind Iron, her face displaying a mischievous smile.
"If you insist... Well, similar to you, Althea, I can’t really remember much. All I could recall was that my grandfather was a soldier and my father was a soldier, so following family tradition, I also became a soldier."
Everyone started to surround Captain Iron, eager to learn more about the cold and stoic captain of Evergarden’s battalion. The only one who didn’t seem interested was Kiran, who appeared to be cool and aloof.
Hmm... despite being able to see his stats, he is still carrying a mysterious aura around him. Heroes like him are always hard to predict.
Logan thought to himself, but the moment he removed his gaze from Kiran. The young alley thief tripped over a small rock and fell face-first onto the floor. He immediately stood back up, cleared the dust, and put his hands back into his pockets. Holding the image of a nonchalant, cool guy.
"Why is everybody walking so fast? I can’t even hear what they are saying." Kiran whispered to himself, afraid of speaking up because he didn’t want to slow everyone down.
The group of ragtags, 1-Star, that was quickly assembled continues to banter with one another. Although the atmosphere was lighter, deep down inside, everybody was nervous going on a mission with so little preparation ahead of time.
Crossing a small bridge that cuts across a fast river stream leads into the thick dark woods. The group peers inside the thickets; chills run down their spines as an ominous feeling begins to overwhelm them.
"Uhm... Commander Logan. Do we really have to enter the forest?" Giles nervously asked, and both of his legs were shaking out of fear. The other members, however, didn’t speak out; somewhere in the back of their minds, all agreed that the woods were extremely dangerous.
Logan didn’t pay attention to other people’s concerns; his eyes locked onto the mission board before him.
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[SYSTEM INTERMISSION QUEST ACTIVATED]
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[Region]: Darkwood Outer Wilderness
[Quest Type]: Extraction
[Difficulty]: C (Scale: F to SS+)
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[MISSION OVERVIEW ]
The captive is currently detained within a forest stronghold.
Breach the encampment perimeter, neutralize or bypass the captors, and safely extract the target back across the threshold of Evergarden.
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[OBJECTIVES & REWARDS]
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• Main Objective: Rescue ’Robin Wood’
• SecondaryObjective: Wipe out the Goblin Outpost
[Completion Reward]:
• 5,000 Gold
• 1x Random Tier-2 Common Equipment
• Hero ’Robin Wood’ 3★
[CRITICAL FAILURE CONDITIONS]:
• Failure to extract before Wave 5 Vanguard arrives will lock the sector permanently.
• Failure to escort Target ’Robin Wood’ back to Evergarden.
──────────────────────────────
[Accept the mission?] [ YES ] / [ NO ]
──────────────────────────────
A 3-star unit on top of 5,000 gold? We desperately need a powerful hero that can stand out and lead the bastion as of this moment.
"We’ve come too far to back down; remember that Evergarden’s future depends on the result of this battle," Logan reassured the team, his voice low and steady; he began to brief the members on the mission details, ensuring that everyone was on the same page.
The instant the party entered the thick woods, a heavy, unnatural fog clung tightly to the forest floor. The deeper they ventured, the weirder the tree branches grew. Many of them were unnaturally long, with multiple twists that intertwined with the other trees, almost like the forest itself was a large living creature.
After venturing through the forest for nearly half an hour, Logan held up his hand, signaling an immediate halt.
Peering through a gap in the branches, the party set sight on a small group of goblins that were patrolling the area.
"Three small green-skinned goblins, carrying crude bone daggers," Logan whispered. He raised two fingers, signaling his team units to flank left and right.
"Maeve, secure the perimeter and notify us if there are other enemies nearby. Kiran moves left and strikes when Captain Iron and Althea draw their attention. Giles, make sure no one escapes," Logan ordered, his voice carrying a cold, calculating authority.
The moment the goblins crossed the intersection, Logan dropped his hand.
The takedown was clinical and instantaneous. Before the goblins could even take another breath, Logan’s units moved out from the twisted brush. Captain Iron’s domineering presence first drew their attention.
Then Kiran’s precise strike from behind cut off the first goblin’s screech before it could leave its throat; the second was quickly shot down from above by Maeve. The last was pinned to the damp earth with Iron’s heavy boot to its neck, its bone dagger knocked far into the fog.
The party, although it only consisted of 1-star heroes, was able to display admirable teamwork. Logan stepped forward, his eyes cold and dark as he looked down at the lone surviving goblin pinned under Iron’s boot.