When The Cute Godkiller Opens A Tavern [Stubbed]

Chapter 97 - Everyone Has a Role

”Especially in times of crisis, those who have the will to help will always be the ones to face the challenges.” ~Shallies Mythernal

After sending her students to The Gaiamaxims Guild, Shallies sensed a number of people coming her way. Since it was still a bit too early for Yoshelle to arrive, the Godkiller verified her guests by tapping into her Focus.

Engaging it would be too much. Her level of mastery of both techniques were in a league which transcended even Favored Class holders. Instead, Shallies consistently had all of her Attributes only partly engaged, only by about a percent, which would be comparable for those around Grace’s level of mastery. It was a trivial thing, at least for her, to the point that it was now arguably her norm.

After quickly sensing her surroundings, so subtly that no one would notice, Shallies identified her guests. They were all the retired adventurers of Cinterbrim Town, led by Guildmaster Robert and his assistant, Rio.

Mayor Schooner, Elesia, and Amabelle were right behind Robert. The Farmers, Ben and Marisa, joined them. They had taken care of the chuchili farm in the dungeon in Rullzia Town earlier this week, ensuring that they would grow for another cycle before the location was properly closed. Eamon, the Shadow Walker turned banker, lingered from the back of the march.

Shallies had a vague idea as to why they were making their way to the Adventurer’s Beginning, but all the same, she prepared food for them.

“I hope you don’t mind a large group,” Robert began, pulling a hat off his head as a sign of subtle reverence. Out of everyone, he was the only one who knew Shallies’ true identity.

“Of course not,” said the Chef, opening the door for all her guests. “Welcome. Please come in.”

The adventurers of Cinterbrim Town took the largest table in the tavern. One by one, they gave their orders to Apple. Some of them were even adventurous enough to try some Flour Fried Kraken Bites, which Shallies handpicked from the Great Kraken, choosing parts that didn’t contain any particular Food Buffs, since nobody needed one right now.

Shallies didn’t rush them, no matter how painfully obvious it was that they had all gathered together to assert their desires to protect the city. Of course, they couldn’t officially join the raid. It was too late now to join, and their addition would just cause issues with the guild’s formations and strategies.

But obviously, she knew that they already understood their peculiar situation. And now, they had come here asking for her help.

After giving everyone their meals, the group expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the flavors. It wasn’t until they were halfway through that Schooner started talking to her.

“We heard that you’re to join the main raid group, Shallies. Is that right?” he asked.

“Originally, I only intended to join the sub-raid with my students,” she began. “But one thing led to another, and now I’m in the main raid.”

“I see.”

“How’s the evacuation going?” Shallies asked, refusing to let any awkwardness fall into the conversation, while allowing the Mayor some angle to keep talking.

“We’ve pretty much taken care of the elderly and the children. Some people wanted to stay, but I only allowed those with Combat Classes to protect the city. They mostly only have Base Classes, though.”

“They must be those that stopped adventuring early, then?”

“Correct. I’m afraid they don’t have any experience to bring to the table when it comes to raiding.” The Mayor’s orcish face hardened as he renewed his resolve, staring at Shallies with determined eyes. “Which is why we came here to ask for your help. Can you convince Guildmaster Maxims to let us join?”

Shallies sighed, hiding her surprise. She had assumed they would be skipping this part of the conversation, but apparently not.

They must be clinging to some hope.

“You know I can’t do that, Mayor,” she replied. “A raid isn’t something we can just add people to and call it a day. If you had been a few days earlier, then we could’ve probably made a good case.

“Not to mention that most of you have been out of the action for a while now. Except for Robert, and maybe Ben and Marisa, has anyone else killed a monster lately?”

Elesia, Schooner, Amabelle, and Eamon all shook their heads.

“That’s another case that we’ll surely lose, then. If all of you had been keeping up with your training, then we could probably convince The Gaiamaxims to let you all go straight into strategy. But even then, it’ll be a stretch. The only reason why my students got their sub-raid approval was because of a Divine Entity taking interest in Grace.”

The instant reaction from everyone, made Shallies aware that neither the half-orc, nor her partymates had told them about it. She didn’t panic. It would be a good opportunity to further solidify her disguise, and allow the Shalliesters Party a bit more freedom. She just had to navigate the conversation carefully.

“I knew it!” Schooner said first. “I knew they were hiding something! The way she gained those levels so fast. No offense, but I doubted it was only because of having a mentor.”

Shallies didn’t bother correcting him. He was technically correct after all. The reason why Grace had gained so many levels in such little time was as much because of the half-orc herself as it was the Godkiller mentoring her.

“Which god or goddess is it?” Elesia asked, putting a hand on her husband to calm him down. Not that the Mayor was angry. He was smiling from ear to ear, but his celebratory stomps were causing the table to shake uncontrollably.

Shallies shrugged. “Maxims wouldn’t say. I only heard that from him.”

“Have they told her?” Amabelle asked this time, curiously. “I know gods don’t interfere with adventurers until they at least become Hero Class holders, but I guess that means Grace is a special case.”

Shallies shook her head in reply. “I figured you all can keep a secret, right?”

“We can,” Robert replied, placing down his utensils. “But we originally came here to talk about joining the raid.”

“It won’t happen,” Shallies said sternly. “I know you all care a lot for your homes, but you need to trust them. They’re good at this. What I would suggest instead, is to join the other Base Class adventurers of the town and be the last line of defense.”

Technically, if The Gaiamaxims Guild failed the raid, Schooner and the others serving as the last line of defense wouldn’t help much. But this would be the closest they could come to helping out, barring any independent decisions that could potentially harm more than help.

The people understood what she was trying to say. No one was strong-willed enough to reject the proposition. They knew their limitations and what stagnation had done to them. None of them could complain. Of course, except for Robert, but he wasn’t one to argue with the Godkiller.

“I suppose, I’m not the one who can decide whether you guys can join or not,” Shallies started, lifting the heavy air that was forming around the group. “I mean, don’t expect much, but there’s still the option of going straight to the guild and asking them, right?”

“No, I think you have a point, Shallies,” Mayor Schooner said. “We’re out of shape. We’d only get in the way. We’ll instead concentrate on keeping the people safe and be the last line of defense, like you said.”

He smiled, looking at everyone, who all seemed to agree with him. “I guess I just really needed someone to say that to me.”

“What do you mean?” Shallies asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He convinced us to join,” Ben said, scratching his bald head.

“We couldn’t say no to our own dear Mayor now, could we?” Marisa added.

“I did,” Eamon said, raising his hand. “But I didn’t have much say in the situation.”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough of that,” Schooner said, tapping the table. “Go ahead and order a few more, then we’ll call it quits.”

Everyone jumped at the opportunity, which brought Shallies straight back to the kitchen.

---

“Everyone, gather ‘round.”

Grace stopped her meditation and turned to find Damascus pulling a stool out of his Class Inventory, motioning for all the sub-raid participants to listen to him. She did as told, noticing that Ren and Tayin had also stopped their meditation.

The three, of course, were practicing The Perpetual Method without letting anyone know. They walked around, held conversations, and even made a few practice swings and did training exercises while holding their concentration.

The half-orc, and she was sure her companions as well, were still struggling with it. Though it no longer involved the temptation, which was a hurdle that they could now pass through almost instantly, controlling their strength, and maintaining the meditation while directing their mana-flow with their consciousnesses were now their current challenges.

Grace, as she stood on the side of the gathering group, decided to let go of her meditation. She didn’t want to be distracted and called out for not paying attention. Tayin breathed out quietly, letting go of her meditation as well. And Ren did the same.

“I’m giving you your positions,” Damascus started. The grizzly veteran’s voice rumbled around them. “We need to give them early, in case Thrush’ven Alir suddenly shows up. Technically, this is only a temporary setup, based around your performance during the previous dungeons test. But I’m pretty sure that these will be your final positions anyway. If I call your name, please step forward. James!”

The adventurer with the sleek hair nervously tensed, but found within himself to step forward.

“Damascus, sir!” he said clearly.

“You’ll be in-charge with the support group. Healers and buffers. No one in the group has specialized in any subterfuge Skills, so you only have those two things to keep in mind. Everyone who can heal, gather around on the side with him. Those who can buff, except for Grace and Tayin, join him as well.”

James did as told, and out of the fifteen people—including the Shalliesters Party—two more went with him. Damascus gave a nod and turned to the half-elf next.

“Phyl’swen!”

“Damascus, sir!”

“You’re in-charge of the melee combatants. Gather on this side, please. Oh, but Grace and Ren will stay.”

The half-elf winked at the half-orc, who had had her name called twice now. Out of the eleven remaining members of the sub-raid, five joined her.

“Tayin,” Damascus said next.

“Sir!” replied the halfling.

“There are only four of you who specialize in long-ranged combat, but you will be leading those three. Make sure you position yourselves strategically, given that you basically hold the strongest firepower.”

“Yes, sir!” Tayin stepped a bit away from Ren and Grace, while she was joined by three other people.

“Now, Ren,” Damascus began. “You’ll be leading the entire group.”

Grace held her nervousness. She was being left for last. And since all the important positions had been taken already, she desperately pushed away the thought of being kicked out from the sub-raid. She kept her silence, watching Ren’s eyes suddenly widen.

“Me?” he repeated. “I’m not sure I can lead this many people.”

“We all start somewhere, kid,” Damascus said. “Out of everyone in the group, during the previous test, you were the only person who remained calm. Or you were panicking, but you didn’t let it show. A good leader has to be the anchor of the group. He has to be able to think fast. And he has to be someone that the others can trust. Do you see anyone here looking at you funny? Does anyone here think they can be a better leader?”

Everyone shook their heads, including Grace.

Ren took a gulp before puffing his chest. “I’ll do my best, but please, be patient with me.”

With his short acceptance speech, everyone gave their applause. And when it finally quieted down, Grace stared nervously at their veteran supervisor. He was smiling at her.

“Didn’t think I would’ve forgotten about you now, did you?”

“Am I getting kicked?” she asked. She would rather know the answer unceremoniously. Granted, she had also prepared every argument she could muster to remain in the sub-raid. She would beg if she had to, though she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“‘Course not, silly girl!” Damascus said, aghast. “Why would we kick out the highest performer of the test? No, kid. Your position is the wildcard. During the sub-raid, you will act as you see fit.”

Grace blinked twice. She didn’t know there was a position like that for such an organized group. But before her words of acceptance came to her mind, Damascus lifted a finger.

“Don’t think it’ll be as simple as that, though,” he started. “You’ll need to study your teammates, you’ll need to adjust to their strategy. You need to fight, support, deliver updates, and adjust on the fly. You need to quickly figure out which part of the sub-raid needs your help and for how long. You’ll be in and out of fights a lot, without finishing any of them. Your job is to change the tide of battle to your friends’ favor. Do you understand?”

Grace had noted down every single pointer. She had already planned to tell Shallies about it and ask if there would be any specific training for her position. With determined eyes, she answered her supervisor’s call.

“I understand, sir!”