Rakehell

The streets of Settlement were busy with adventurers of all types. It was mid-morning, the prime time for parties to head out for the day and Toma's 'party' was no exception. As they walked towards one of two gates positioned at the north and south of town, Toma could hear so many things.

"Ah! No fair. You always favor her!" A short woman with dark hair and a huntress style outfit practically shouted.

"Stop it. I'm not favoring anyone Artemis." A dark haired, fair skinned boy dressed in mage's attire replied. He seemed used to the energy of the person he was arguing with.

"No way..is that.. The White Queen?" Chaddus whispered as the group of four walked by.

"And The Golden Beam. No way. Who are the other two?" Another man nearby said. This caused Toma to direct his attention that way as well. The White Queen was a well known healer in Settlement after all. Even Toma had the pleasure of being healed by her once. She was practically a Goddess among adventurers.

"I'm the only goddess you need." Elise said as she stepped in front of Toma and gazed up at him expectantly. There was a faintly forming pout on her lips, which caused Toma to smile.

"Of course." Toma replied as he smiled in return.

He cast a glance towards the White Queen once more. Her and her three party members had already made it a fair distance. He could still hear a heated conversation going on, and watched as the remaining members of the party laughed at the animated exchanges.

Soon they were gone and Toma was left to discuss the plans of his own party.

"I personally think we should go to the Lull Forest. It's got decent enemies, but it wouldn't be that dangerous." Elise said as she gripped her staff and placed a hand on her hip with the free arm.

"That place is lame. Plus, there's tons of parties already headed that direction." Chaddus' friend, Marco replied. Marco was a red headed Warrior class adventurer -- a dime a dozen really. Still, he was a level 3, three entire levels higher than Toma.

"We don't have a full party, or a healer. If something serious happens we'll be in deep trouble." Elise further explained her case as to why they should head to the Lull Forest."

"I don't know. I'm with Marco. It's pointless if we won't be able to find any monsters to slay. The fastest way to level is to fight a lot." Yashin was Chaddus' other friend. Yashin was a Rogue class adventurer with dirty yellow hair. He was tall (slightly shorter than Toma) and rather than standing straight he slouched which gave him the appearance of someone who seemed to be up to no good.

"Mmm." Elise seemed very insistent. Her heart seemed set on visiting the Lull Forest, yet Toma could see their point. He also didn't want to slow them down or suck them into an afternoon they would absolutely hate.

"What do you think, Toma?" Chaddus asked as he directed his gaze towards the Spearmaster.

Toma glanced first at Elise, then from face to face of the other party mates. They all seemed set in their opinions. The only person they hadn't heard from was Chaddus and he pitched the responsibility to Toma! In the end, Toma had to agree with the others.

"I think...somewhere else would be nice. But, could we limit the level range of the zone to maybe.. Two or three at max?" It was the safest option he could go with. Elise was staring daggers into him and he didn't want to make a bad impression on the people being dragged along at her will. In a way, Toma sympathized with them since he'd known Elise for quite some time.

Elise frowned upon hearing his answer and was about to say something when Chaddus spoke up.

"Agreed! That's a great idea. In fact, I even have a good place in mind." Chaddus said, accompanied by a smile.

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"Mmm. Chaddus. I don't know about this. Have you actually been in this zone before?" Elise asked. The group of five was now standing outside of their destination, courtesy of a teleportation service.

The blue magical circle which slowly revolved at their feet was evidence that a transportation mage would keep a portal open for them for the next eight hours. As long as they returned to this portal by that time, they would be able to port back to Settlement easily.

This was the only choice they had, considering that the zone they ultimately chose was called Rakehell Grove, a location that was nearly three hours away on foot.

"Of course. The monsters here are weak and shouldn't pose a problem to anyone here. You can even check the zone data. I wouldn't lie! Besides, we already paid for the port. It's not cheap." Chaddus explained with a shrug.

Elise sighed and tugged on the brim of her mage's hat.

"Fine." She finally relented, even after being outnumbered and talked into choosing this place, something within Elise caused her intuition to flare up. She genuinely wasn't happy about their choice. Her heart felt uneasy, and therefore she couldn't be calm.

"Great!" Chaddus said with a smile. He slapped Toma on the back a few times then motioned for everyone to gather around as they discussed their plans. The general idea was to wound the creatures while Toma finished them off. Doing so would reward Toma with a 30% XP bonus and the level difference of the monsters would further make leveling much easier. After agreeing on a formation they finally stepped foot into Rakehell Grove.

The place was essentially a woodland area dotted with elder trees. The environs were laden with sprawling branches which hung from thick tree trunks, and from those branches were moss. The canopy within the Rakehell was thick, so that light barely filtered down to the grassy floor. Toma imagined the treasure trove of natural ingredients that might lie just out of sight. He also imagined (or perhaps even heard) the sound of scurrying from various directions as the group of five walked further into the zone.

[Rakehell Grove

Zone Range 2-3

T.A. : The area is home to insects. Preparation may be necessary to avoid status ailments.]

"B-bugs!? You didn't mention that there would be bugs Chad!" Elise practically shouted, but she quickly reconsidered and lowered her voice as she glanced around. In Elise's mind there were now creepy crawlies lurking in every shadow -- and she wasn't very far off the mark. She drew closer towards Toma, for it was the only thing to give her a sense of comfort in the moment. Having seen this Chaddus grimaced slightly, clenching his fist momentarily before reverting to his normal "cool" demeanor.

"It's no big deal. I'll protect you." Chaddus said as he further led the others along the well tread path. They walked for a considerable amount of time until they reached an area where the path began to widen. Eventually it opened into a large clearing surrounded by trees , brush and grass.

"Why haven't we met any enemies yet?" Elise asked as she cautiously stepped forward and sat down on a nearby log.

"Chances are someone came before us. We should probably pick a direction and head into the brush."

"What? No way!" Elise objected almost immediately.

Chaddus sighed and folded his arms.

"Listen. We've got a limited time to do what we came to do. Even with eight hours we will be lucky if Toma here reaches level two. He'd have to slay hundreds of enemies. There's no way we will make it happen otherwise. " Chaddus further explained his logic.

Although Elise knew this to be true she still felt hesitant -- on an emotional level. She grinded her teeth, almost as she agonized over the suggestion.

"What do you think, Toma?" Chaddus asked. This was only the second time that Chaddus even bothered to ask Toma's opinion. Toma quickly picked up on the fact that Chaddus was playing him against Elise. Still….

"I think Chaddus is right." Toma replied as he offered a reassuring smile at Elise.

*Just because he wants to play us against one another doesn't mean I need to go along with it.* Toma's thought process was simple. He didn't want to force Elise into making a decision that she might regret.

She sighed upon hearing Toma's answer, partially because she understood that Toma would rarely change his mind once it was set.

"Fine…" She said as she began to sulk.

Within fifteen minutes they'd gotten a break and decided to head out.

"This is scary...I'm not sure about this.." Elise voiced her concern almost immediately as they stepped off of the beaten path. The thick overhead canopy of the trees shielded them from even more light. The grass beneath their feet rose to meet their ankles and at times even higher. This, combined with the close grouping of trees created a somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere.

Even Marco and Yashin seemed a bit unsure about Chaddus' decision. After walking for another ten minutes it seemed that everyone was having the same thought, "What are we even doing here?"

"We haven't even been this far into Rakehell ourselves...dude what if something happens…" Marco attempted to speak at a whisper as he sought to catch Chaddus' ear.

The exchange was muffled, as the sound of rustling grass and the chittering of insects filled the air -- still Elise's heightened senses caught it.

"What? You've never been this deep into the zone? I thought you said you knew what you were doing?" Elise spoke much louder than she initially intended to.

"Are you nuts? You're going to alert every monster around to our position--" Chaddus spun around with a sense of urgency and fury in his eyes. It was this time that the monsters chose to strike.