***

Arameth

As morning rose, I started to pack and prepared myself for our first job. I dressed myself in a white tunic and black trousers and put on protection over it. I put on my belt and attached my swords sheath on it. I take the badge we got from the guild and attach it to my belt. I sheathed my sword and headed out of my room.

As I left the inn, I felt the warm winds of the outside world caress my face. on my way towards the guild hall, I saw a figure walk towards me. It was Johan.

"Planning on skipping today's lesson, are you?" Johan asked.

"Huh... w-what do you mean?" I ask as if I don’t know what he is talking about.

"You are geared up as if you’re going on a hunt. Besides, I heard about a certain new brotherhood joining the great guild," Johan said.

"I think they were called the raven core and that they were planning on going for their first job today," Johan continued.

Realizing that it wasn't really worth lying to him, I decided to simply admit it.

"Fine, yes, you're right."

"I was going to tell you, but everything just happened, and as soon as we had joined, we had gotten a job, and then I was back at the inn..." I explained.

I expected a stern look of disappointment from Johan, however he showed the opposite.

Johan started to laugh.

"Oh, you act like you’re in trouble or something, kid," Johan said trying to calm his laughter.

"But, I thought you’d be mad or upset since I won’t be attending your lesson today," I said.

"No, I’m not mad. In fact, I see this as something positive for our lessons," Johan proclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there is just so much you can learn while sparing with me or your friends, but using what I’ve thought you in actual combat with opponents that you have never met before can be useful," Johan explained.

"So, I just want to ask you one thing for your job today, and any job in the future. Focus on using your pressure waves for offense and defense. That way, we can count your jobs with the raven core as lessons on their own."

"Besides, I was around your age when I first traversed out into the world," he added.

Hearing this, I felt a smile form on my face. His words felt genuine, and he looked happy that I would apply his teachings to real experiences.

That's when I realized how different it all felt. All of it. Johan wasn't like my parents, hesitant on me actually going out in the world. He wasn't hesitant on me seeing the world like he had. It wasn't just Johan. This whole place was different compared to Berkton.

Here I didn't have to stay hidden. It hadn't even hit me yet how people didnt look at me like some exotic animal, instead they saw me as me. A child, lost in the world with only a sword on his back. It felt good. I felt free.

So I smiled and told him.

"I will."

"Oh, and before you leave," Johan said as I was about to walk past him.

Johan put down the bag he had hanging from his shoulder. He reached in it and dragged out a coat.

The coat made from what looked like fur and perhaps some soft leather was brown with white outlines.

"See it as a gift from me, for managing my lessons," Johan said handing it over.

The coat felt cold in my hands. It didn't have the warmth of another person developed in its soft material. The same cold that forms from never being worn. 

"Thank you, you didn’t have to." I said taking the coat.

"Nonsense. Now that cloak is a bit special. It's made from the hide of a basilisk hound. It will change its size depending on the wearer. And  it also has the property of being pretty resistant to fire and blades. Making it almost a second layer of armor." Johan explained.

"Whoa..." I let out as I put it on.

As Johan said, as I put it on the coat instantly grew to fit me.

"Now go ahead. I’m sure they are waiting for you." Johan said.

"Thanks again Johan." I said as I again started heading towards the guild hall.

As I walk, I took of the emblem from my belt and attached it to my new coat.

When I got to the guild hall, I saw the other four already there waiting for me.

Victoria was dressed in almost all black. She wore a black tunic and trousers, along with some sort of leather armor that was colored in a mix of marine blue and black. On her hip she had her sword sheathed. She had tied her hair up in a bun to make sure it wouldn’t get in the way of her eyes.

Looking at her sword I feel a chill run down my spine as I remember being hit with its thunder.

Next to her stood Lilith, she was dressed in cold blueish-black robes and wore a typical withes hat on her head.

Kasper wore a red vest clad with a variety of sharp objects. The vest lay over a light white tunic. He wore white trousers with knee guards and a belt iconic to the Loup clan with weird runes inscribed to it. On his back, he had two hand axes. Hellen sat resting on his head.

When they saw me coming, they all got up and walked up to me.

"I'm last here huh." I said with a chuckle.

"Ah, don’t worry Victoria and I got here just some minutes ago." Kasper said.

"Shall we get going?" Victoria asked.

We walked through the falling city until we got to the edge of the third district. From there we jumped from the edge to different pieces of falling land until we got to stable ground.

We walked some way out until we got to the outskirts. We let Hellen fly free, using her as a scout for incoming dangers. 

"So where exactly do we find these beasts? Did they even tell us what beasts we are hunting?" Lilith asked.

"It only said the outskirts of the city. I guess we will just have to keep our eyes open for any kind of beast." Victoria answered.

We started to head out to the destroyed lands outside the city, but before we got close, we heard something. Something that sounded like a low hum.

In the distance we saw a large group of chimeras rush towards us while from our left I saw another group.

"Guess we found them." Kasper said.

"Is everyone here confident in taking on a group of chimeras?" Victoria asked.

"Hell yeah!" Kasper shouted.

"Yes." Lilith responded.

"Took on a group unarmed so this should be easy." I said.

"Of course you did." Victoria said with a snicker.

Kasper looked over to me and said with a grin.

"Show of."

"Okay then. Kasper and Arameth you take the ones on the left. I and Lilith go for the ones in front." Victoria ordered.

Upon hearing that me and Kasper rushed towards the group of Chimeras at our left. Kasper moved like a wild animal brandishing his axes going in for the kill. He slashed around like there was no, tomorrow. Seeing this I felt that familiar exhilarating feeling I got whilst fighting Magnus back in Jacob’s pit.

I rushed in as well, unsheathing my sword, and started to cleave the chimeras. Attacking with a mixture of my pressure wave incantations and sword play. However, something felt off. Like there was something wrong with how this fight was going.

I would quickly find the answer to my unsure feeling when Kasper suddenly jumped into me, causing me to lose my balance.

I quickly get back up, and when I look around, I see how the two of us have gotten surrounded.

"Oi, why did you bump into me like that?" Kasper roared.

"huh? you bumped into me!" I tell him.

A chimera jumps at me, and suddenly Kasper’s axe comes from behind me and slashed it. Alongside that incident, other of chimeras that I could have easily taken Kasper decided to kill, and same with me.

I saw a chimera going for a sneak attack against Kasper, and I decided to use an incantation.

"Dart."

However, as the attack flew against the creature, Kasper had made a one eighty and gone for the chimera. Causing the sharp gust of air to almost hit him.

"The hell!" he screamed.

"You ran into it!" I roared.

There were many other times where similar incidents occurred during the battle. Either I used Form and it almost hit Kasper or I performed an incantation that caused Kasper to be caught in the crossfire.

That’s when I realized.

"We haven’t fought alongside each other before. So, it makes sense that this battle feels weird. We don’t know how to fight like a group."

I look over to Victoria and Lilith, and it seems like they had realized this as well, and they seem like they had found a way to get around this issue.

"Kasper, take it easy. We need to fight like a team. You can’t fight like we do when we spar!" I shout.

"We have to fight at an equal level."

"Look at the other two! We have to communicate more." I told him.

"I know!" Kasper let out as he continued to attack.

"Good! Then let’s do this. Or do you want to give Lilith another thing to tease us with!" I shout out as to overwhelm the roars of the beasts and as to motivate my teammate.

"Hell no!" Kasper roared.

"Then we need a plan," I told him.

"You take the left side and I take the right. If we feel like any of us needs help or that the other might be in danger, we shout it out, okay?" Kasper suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" I responded.

With a strategy set we quickly got back on our feet. We would often call out to each other to signal our attacks if the other where in danger of getting hurt by it.

As we went on, I heard that low hum we heard at the start of this fight. Then a series of loud croaks echoed out, it was a warning from Hellen. Hellen flew in acircle around a pair of bushes to our right. Then from the bushes I saw something. A small group of five humming beast.

Humming beasts? Why are they out here? There shouldn’t be anything for them to eat out here.

Nevertheless, I called out the group.

"Humming beasts Incoming from the right!"

"You take them. I can manage the rest here I will get to you as soon as I’m done!" Kasper told me.

So, I did.

I sprinted towards them.

"Form."

My sword grew in length and pierced one of the humming beasts. Using the swords length I swing it towards the other humming beasts cleaving them in two. Except two other that had dodged my sword swing.

I use Form again to make the sword return to its original size. Making the pierced humming beast come closer to me.

I grab onto the beast and pull out my sword. Taking this chance the humming beast spins around and uses its tale to hit me. The blow makes me take a step back. But I quickly move back in and strike down on its skull.

I started to run towards the other two that survived. As I got close, I heard someone shout from next to me.

"Move away!" I look to my right and saw Lilith prepare a spell.

"Open gate. Angelic cries, nomadic frights. Spiritual guidance and hopeful silence. Magnolia Sphere."

Around Lilith’s hands formed a dark cloud and from it a great speak made from darkness shot out and killed the two humming beasts instantly.

"Thanks!" I said.

"No problem grizzly." Lilith responded.

I looked back towards.

Kasper and saw that he had killed of the rest of the chimeras.

Victoria joined us and said.

"Looks like that was the last of them. We should though stay a while and make sure there won’t be any more coming."

"Good idea." Kasper said.

We sat there and waited, for about two hours but no more beasts came. So, we took as many of the corpses of the beast we had killed that we could and made our way back to the guild hall.

As we got there, we turned in the corpses, 15 Chimeras and 5 humming beasts which gave us a total of 300 Oura. We split it with each other making it 75 Oura each. We made our way up to the job wall to see if the elf tomb job was still there.

To our delight it was. So as planned we took it and planned to take it on tomorrow.