Chapter 46: Not All Heroes Do Group Content
Kalli suspected that at the end of the week, when the timer to reach level two was up, there was going to be more than just a simple removal of powers.
It was almost certain to mean another wave of monsters, and possibly some sort of natural disaster.
She still had the 72-hour protective barrier reward for the Academy that she hadn’t used. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use it so soon. But if it came down to it, she would buy the Academy a few days that way, and then they would have to see what their chances looked like.
Kalli was watching the students prepare for their afternoon activities when a whistle from the guards on the wall alerted her that someone was coming.
It was one lone skinny person with a black cloak on.
But they were holding up a silver emblem that looked a lot like the Marimgar Academy badge from their uniforms.
She moved to the gate and stepped outside with the snipers on the wall covering her, and the visitor darted across the street to the entrance.
"Ah, there you are. I saw the announcement that we had to come here to complete these quests, so I’ve come to turn them in."
Kalli nodded and stepped closer, so the strange person’s quests would complete. With the loose robe and the badly disguised voice, she couldn’t tell if this was a tall woman or an effeminate man. But it really didn’t matter, as the moment that the mystery boxes appeared in their hands, they turned to leave.
"If you want to exchange points for supplies, I can do that. Or you can buy skills with them. You may also want to check the boxes before you go, in case it’s not what you want."
The strange person shrugged, and collected the boxes, but immediately put the items into some sort of storage before Kalli even saw what they were. It was one Uncommon and two Common Grade boxes, so they had been close enough to get missions and completions, but they clearly had no intentions of remaining.
"We will be here if you need more supplies, or have more quests to turn in.
Have you reached level two yet?"
The stranger nodded. "I already reached level three. But I have to go, I left my zombies in the park, and they tend to wander off if I’m not paying attention."
Then, they simply left, and Kalli turned to the guards with a shrug. Whoever that was, they weren’t a threat. They were a student of the Academy, but apparently preferred not to be around people.
The mention of zombies strongly suggested that it was a Necromancer Class, which could be incredibly powerful.
But only if they were willing to cooperate with others.
"You’re just going to let them go without a sales pitch?" The soldier working the wall asked.
"Yep. They seemed happy enough wherever they were, didn’t even want to trade for food. If they get short on supplies, they clearly know how to get back to the Academy. But they’re a level three Necromancer, they might be able to hold a property on their own.
If they got to level three while working solo, they haven’t been idle."
From behind Kalli, one of the warriors laughed. "Don’t worry about her, she’s always been a bit weird like that. Most likely left the zombies behind because she’s got a bunch of dead Rat Demons dressed up in pop idol costumes."
Well, that was a scary thought.
"Got it, she’s the weird kid. But she’s powerful, and that’s what matters. If we happen to see her again, make sure that people at least try to be nice to her. It’s not easy to survive alone, and with only seven days before things get worse, everyone is going to need someone to rely on."
"What’s next for you?"
"While everyone else is running missions, I’m hitting the gym. Dainty isn’t exactly peak survival physique."
The soldier laughed, and looked over to where one of the mages was sitting in the shade.
"Compared to some of the others, you’re not doing too badly. Only the Warriors have decent physiques, and that’s from their class. How much can you expect out of a whole school full of the super wealthy elites?"
Kalli sighed. "We will have that battle later. Everyone needs more stamina anyhow. Some of the students can’t even keep up a jog for a kilometre, and they stay slim with diet alone."
They weren’t being particularly subtle, given that he was sitting on top of the wall, not standing next to her. Their voices carried, and more than a few of the students who hadn’t gotten a boost from being Warriors were considering hitting the gym with Kalli.
If things went wrong, they didn’t want to be the slowest member of the group.
A week ago, it was a joke that you didn’t have to be the fastest one in the group, you just had to be second slowest to escape danger. Now, they were all keenly aware that they might be the weakest link, and the first to be overtaken if the group had to run.
With that thought in mind, suddenly Esmeralda, the oddball Necromancer girl who had just come to visit, seemed to be in a much better spot.
She had mindless undead to block for her.
While she was definitely the weird kid in class, and they weren’t shocked that she didn’t want to stay in the Academy now that she had an option, her class had real advantages to survival.
"Wait up, Kalli! We will join you in the Gym. There should be clean workout uniforms in there, so we can go directly."
"Oh, that is excellent news. There weren’t any outfits but uniforms in my room when I arrived."
The others were briefly reminded that Kalli was a transfer student, and had likely not had time to even hit the student commissary to get decorations for her room before things went bad. So, she had also not been to a physical fitness class, or likely even had a proper tour of the Academy.
