Chapter 72: Fellow Travelers
The ride in the back of the carriage was a bit of an awkward one, the caravan squeaked and tossed about every so often, making the journey a bit of a bumpy one. The adventurers inside the caravan begun conversing to each other, discussing their skills and adventurer rankings, while also getting to know each other.
The crimson haired woman glanced over at Loraine, not really paying any attention to the other adventurers that were trying to talk to her. She was a formidable adventurer, a top-tier A-Rank with exceptional skill with the spear and the potential to even rival S-Rank adventurers if given enough time.
Her name was Yura Alevier, and she was a Rare Class [Radiant Spear Master].
’Something’s off about that woman...’ Yura couldn’t help but think to herself, crossing her arms over her breast plate as she watched Loraine out of the corner of her eye. The aura the maid radiated was not a weak one, it was something far too powerful for what an ordinary maid was capable of possessing.
’Is she a [Sacred Maid] perhaps? But even with her magic, I don’t believe it should be on a level like this. Maids don’t fight, but if that’s the case then why does she feel like she’s on the level of the other adventurers in this place.’ She thought to herself, wondering if she was perhaps going crazy with her own delusions or if her gut was telling her something the others couldn’t pick up.
’I’m trying my best to ignore her, but she’s glaring straight into me! I feel so uncomfortable!’ Loraine thought to herself, breaking a nervous sweat as she tried her best not to pay attention to the woman across from her, but her [Maiden’s Intuition] skill was making that impossible for her in that exact moment.
"So you both are maids, huh?" The sudden voice of the crimson haired woman caught Loraine’s ears, causing the white haired maiden to pay attention immediately, to which she responded with a nod.
"Yeah, though I’m a [Sacred Maid] while my friend here is an ordinary one." Loraine said, her tone professional and elegant as she bowed her head slightly. "My name is Loraine, It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Loraine turned to Sarah, silently giving her best friend the signal to introduce herself as well.
Sarah met her gaze for a moment, a bit nervous before gently bowing her head and introducing herself as well. "I am Sarah, pleasure to meet you all." She said elegantly before lifting her head.
Yura smiled as they introduced themselves, placing her hands on her hips as she showed off a cocky and prideful grin, her stance invertedly causing the muscles on her body to flex, Loraine’s eyes widening in both shock and awe at the display of power.
"Nice to meet you, Loraine, Sarah, I am Yura, captain of this small band of adventurers, and an A-Rank [Radiant Spear Master]!" She said, the pride evident in her voice as she spoke with strong conviction.
"An A-Rank adventurer?" Sarah repeated, surprised, not expecting to be in the presence of someone so powerful. "And your Class, it’s a Rare one right? I heard that it was one of the best for mid-range combat, while also providing excellent defense and positioning." Sarah said, her tone analytical as she spoke about the Class and it’s capabilities, her knowledge surprising Loraine a little.
’I didn’t think Sarah had an interest in adventurers, but it looks like she knows a lot.’ Loraine thought to herself, before returning her attention back to Yura. A small smile stretching on her face as her intrigue about adventurers was steadily increasing, now that she finally had a chance to better her understanding about the heroes of their world.
"Well then Yura, could you tell me about yourself some more? And where you and your squad could be headed?" Loraine said, glancing over at some of the other adventurers that were talking amongst themselves. "I would like to know a lot more about adventurers and what you all face in those Dungeons."
Yura blinked for a moment, surprised by Loraine’s question. A small chuckle escaped her lips, "Alright, since we still have some time left, I suppose I tell you girls about myself a little. Though I’m not the best at explaining things, so you might have to go and read about this yourself." Yura admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of her head a bit as a small blush crept on her face.
Time seemed to fly by as Yura began to explain to Loraine about who she was and what role she had to play in leading the team gathered today. She was an A-Rank adventurer of the Royal Capital’s FrostHeart Guilt, the name of the guild somewhat contradicting her striking fiery appearance, but Loraine continued to listen anyway.
She had received news of a Dungeon that had appeared in the Ruby City Of Lazarus, the guilds reporting that the magical energy coming off the Dungeon indicated that it was something far more powerful than any of them had initially expected.
"An S-Rank Dungeon!?" Loraine gasped in surprise, her eyes wide with shock and intrigue. "Aren’t those like catastrophically dangerous!?" She asked, Yura crossing her arms as she gave the white haired maiden a curt nod.
"Indeed, but that’s not even the worst of it." Yura said, her expression turning serious. "You’re aware with the Adventurer rankings right? Where all adventurers, monsters, and Dungeons are classified by rank, traditionally going from the bottom of F-Rank, to something as dangerous as an S-Rank Dungeon."
"Apparently, the magical energy coming off the Dungeon hinted that the Dungeon could even be SS-Rank, and if that is true, then we’re going to need a whole lot more than just one guild to dispatch this case. It could be something catastrophic for the whole region if we don’t clear it in time." Yura said, sighing as she slumped back in her seat.
"How long has the Dungeon been around for? If we’re travelling at this pace, then we’re wasting precious time don’t you think?" Loraine asked, raising a brow. Her expression turned contemplative as she thought to herself for a long moment, the prospect of an SS-Rank Dungeon scaring her to her core.
’How powerful would the monsters be in a place like that, every Dungeon has floors that take a long time to scale, some even providing harsh environments, and deadly traps and puzzles. S-Rank Dungeons are known not only for their powerful monsters, treasures, and Bosses, but also for monstrously huge they are and how difficult it is to navigate them, am I even prepared to handle something like this?’
Loraine thought to herself, glancing at Yura out of the corner of her eye for a moment. She could feel the gap of strength between herself and Yura, Loraine was just a flickering flame of a candle, compared to the blazing hurricane Yura was in comparison to everyone else in the room.
’Perhaps if I were to use my skills, then maybe I could stand put up a good fight, but one thing is clear from this alone.’ Loraine clenched her fist in her hand.
’I’m not prepared to handle a task as monstrous as this.’ She thought with a sigh, turning back to Yura.
At Loraine’s initial question, Yura merely smiled. "Don’t worry, S-Rank Dungeons take a very long time to cause a Dungeon Break, about 1-2 months, and if the Dungeon is SS-Rank, then we could expect a period of 3-4 months of respite, though that doesn’t necessarily make it any better." She said with a shrug.
"Going by this pace, we should reach Lazarus in 2 weeks, leaving us with perhaps a week to prepare, but don’t worry, almost every guild will be bringing their most powerful representatives to take place in the raid, compared to them I’m merely just a background character in their glory."
She said, her words causing Loraine to breathe a sigh of relief. ’Alright, that does make me feel a bit more safe, but she says that compared to the others she’s just a background character? Is the gap between A-Rank and S-Rank really that big? And if that’s the case, I wonder where I would scale compared to these monsters.’
Loraine thought to herself, she was still very confident in her [Mystic Amplification]’s ability to make any ability absolutely busted, but compared to the bandits she had fought, they were merely ants in the dragon’s den. She knew that form here on out, that things were going to get far more difficult and she would need to prepare for it.
"Hey Yura, do you think a maid could become an adv-"
"We’re approaching the Town Of Aveldon!" The travelling merchant’s voice cut her off, "We’re going to be resting here for the night!" Said the travelling merchant as their whip crackled once more, pushing the card forward faster.
’Damn....we’re here. I suppose I’ll ask her another time then.’