The other Hunters in the castle's courtyard were in the midst of their own discussions when they suddenly quelled their facial expressions and turned to look at the aged man who was walking towards them with a beautiful maid by his side. The maid in question was one of the Lord of this city's personal maids and thus was a demon noble that held a higher status than most of them.
The Hunter Guild Leader walked proudly through the courtyard that was well lit by magic lamps and the brightening sky, with a pose that befitted a man of his status even though he was a bit more relaxed than what actual Noble etiquette demanded.
He arrived before the Hunters and grinned while stroking his long white beard. Some of the Hunters seemed affected by that but most of them had no response as the old man chuckled and said:
"Well at the very least you lot made it on time for once. It's almost time to leave so I hope you're all prepared. We shall dispatch four merchants with you for transportation and sixteen royal knights as an escort. There will also be a batch of miners accompanying you. Their job begins the moment yours ends but don't worry, it's not your job to keep them safe."
Ivan glanced at every single Hunter in front of him and nodded his head upon seeing their serious expression before he continued his speech.
"The objective of this quest is an unexplored grade 3 gold mine within the Farbelt Pass — very likely to be a double layer mine, from the information we've reviewed. The duration of the expedition will be three days, and the bonus will be awarded based on how fast the nest of the monsters is exterminated."
The guild leader— Ivan Geriyl— had said the same thing as the quest briefing, the only difference was probably the presence of the Knights serving as theirs and the miners' bodyguards.
They wanted to know why the lord was so desperate for a common grade 3 mine aside from the possibility of another connecting mine, but the Hunters knew which questions could be answered and which questions could not. If the City's Lord was willing to tell them, then he would have said so when briefing them.
However—
"Ah... yes. There is also another reason why we hired you bunch. You're all the best the Hunter guild has to offer and we won't send you out just based on the possibility of an unknown variable. No. We specifically asked for Hunters at the Adamantine level or higher for a reason."
Scanning their faces one more time, he sighed tiredly and spoke:
"Although it seems you lot have scared all the Adamantine level away. I only requested for you to gather here for a briefing not turn it into a danger zone. *sigh... well this is good too. Let's get back on topic. We've confirmed the existence of a certain creature in the adjacent mine."
"Oh, how intriguing. What kind of creature was able to cause the guild to hire so many of us?" The one who spoke was Godspeed slayer Kazim, who had been keeping his eyes closed all this while seemingly uninterested until now.
His eyes sparkled with interest as he stared at the guild leader, urging him to continue.
"A Green-Eyed Devil."
"A Devil?"
The enthusiasm visibly died from Kazim's face as he almost immediately lost interest.
"I'm sure not many of you have seen a true Devil before so you're probably assuming it's the same as those read things you've read in your children's books. But you're wrong."
"Meaning what exactly," Berot asked as he suddenly felt uncomfortable with the situation.
"Meaning this. Just as we demons used to have a hierarchy amongst ourselves that we've evolved into nobility titles. Devils are the same. Those red things you've seen in books are merely lesser devils with no mind or ego of their own. They're incredibly weak. However, you've heard of the stories of summoned devils who devour their summoners and eat their souls right?."
"Yes."
"Yes. Those are the type of devils I'm talking about. Summoned devils are not some type of monster with intelligence as most seem to believe. They are creatures that exist in the underworld or the abyss as spirits that eternally wanders the darkness. They gain power and intelligence in various ways and their society is governed by the rule of strength. They are ranked as, Lesser Devils, Devils, Greater Devils, and Arch Devils."
"Okay, so what does all that mean?"
"In simple terms, a normal devil is at the very least the level of a demon earl, a greater devil is at least the same rank as a demon duke and if you meet an archdevil I suggest you run."
A wave of gasp swept across the courtyard as looks of astonishment was plastered across all the hunters' faces. They hadn't expected even the least strong devil to be at a level beyond theirs but they still didn't think it would be too much of a hassle to kill one. After all, Hunters were specialized in killing monsters that were stronger than them.
The biggest problem was the archdevil who surpassed their expectations by leaps and bounds.
"So, what's the level of the devil you're sending us after."
"We ain't sure. But from the information we received, it shouldn't be stronger than a Greater Devil so all of you should be enough to take it down and claim the territory it's guarding. That is your main objective in this mission. We've also prepared a map of the underground mine and where the devil has located thanks to the help of the pioneers. That's all the information that has been retained from you till now. Any questions?"
The courtyard was rendered speechless for several minutes and no one could speak even a single word after hearing the true objective of their mission. They all just stare at Ivan with different emotions flowing through their minds.
"Huh, what's wrong? Do none of you have any questions."
Not receiving any response, Ivan repeated his question, dragging the dumbstruck Hunters out of their daze as most of them began to shake their heads.
Since non of the Hunters were asking any questions, Berot thought everything would just move on like this when suddenly Ms. Aegar raised a hand and spoke.
"You just mentioned pioneers right? They were the ones who discovered the mine we're headed to are they not? I don't see any of them around. Shouldn't they be guiding us there themselves?"
Ivan turned his head to look at the woman who was in the midst of adjusting her glasses and chuckled.
"There's no need for that. They are too weak for this mission so the drivers have been given the exact location of the mine and as I said to the earlier young lady, a detailed map has been provided by the city. There's no need for those guys to partake in the mission this time."
"Is that so."
"indeed. Is that all your questions?"
"Oh no, far from it. I've noticed the Merchant Guild and the Hunter Guild are working together on this with the help of Lord Aur but I fail to notice the Magic institute role in all this. Did the city not inform them of this, or are they being sidelined for a specific reason?"
After hearing her direct question, Ivan sighed deeply as he stroked his beard.
"You're asking quite the troublesome quest Ms. Aegar. The Red Ruby is really quite the handful full, aren't they? I'm afraid I can't answer any of those questions so please bear with me."
Although that question didn't have anything to do with the information he had just provided them and he was within his right to ignore it. Ivan still apologized so as not to provoke her inquisitive side. His attitude was the right one as any other approach would've increased the Red Ruby's attention on this mission which wasn't a good thing.
"Alright then."
"Is there anyone else with a question? …In that case, I shall take you all to your awaiting carriages."
Since nobody objected or raised a question, everyone followed behind Ivan as he turned and left with the maid trailing behind him. No one coyote understand why he had brought her along even though there was no need.
Berot and the rest of Dominion were at the end of the group. They walked slowly behind the guild leader as they got to their destination. They had only just left the courtyard for the front of the castle when their eyes suddenly went wide.
Three large covered carriages were waiting at the place where the guild leader had taken them, which would be heading for the Farbelt pass. There was also a group of people helping to load their luggage onto the carriages. Those ought to be the miners that they would be clearing out the mine for. Knights with full plate armor stood by the side of the carriages while the merchants organized the luggage.
However, what surprised them was not the Knights, but the horses pulling the carriages.
"—Demonic horses, " someone exclaimed in surprise.
The demonic horse was a tier 2 creature that evolved from a normal horse after being trained by a magic beast tamer. They were larger than an average horse and possessed excellent physical strength, stamina, and mobility, they could even go days without food or water. Some people considered them to be the ideal creature for land travel as most Mech carriages could not travel far or on unpaved roads.
Naturally, they commanded an absurd price as well. Most nobles could not afford the amount that cost five times as much as a warhorse or actual beast mounts.
Yet, there were three two-horse carriages before them, for a total of 6 demonic horses. Of course, they knew the one truly organizing this expedition was the lord of the city, Aur Zorak so such creatures wouldn't be a big deal for him but there was a high possibility of losing the carriages and horses during a monster attack so the fact that he had still provided them with demonic horses showed his wealth and the importance he placed on this mission.
Or perhaps he was in a hurry to obtain what lies in the second mine that he felt only demonic horses would be able to get there fast enough.
Everyone was probably thinking the same thing. The sound of swallowing came from somewhere.
"Lord Aur has provided you with all you'll need for this mission and we've taken the liberty of loading them in for you. Feel free to use these carriages. Your rations and other supplies are inside the vehicle compartment. The knights' job is to protect the carriages, miners, and your campsite. Due to the differences in skill set, they will not be able to display their full strength in a cane or the tunnels so they cannot enter the mine, so please keep that in mind."
Saying that Ivan turned around and left towards the castle. The pretty maid then gracefully vowed at them and left with him. It would seem he had been staying in the castle for the past few days and was granted his personal maid for the time being.
Seeing as he brought her along only to flaunt her in front of them. The old man seems to be having fun just messing with them. Although stuff like that didn't affect Berot or Kazim.
Berot sighed as he signed for his team to board the carriage as it prepared to leave only to bump into the massive frame of Vrutha. The force destabilized his center of gravity as he stumbled back and crashed into Eliss who had been walking close behind.
Their figures twisted in the air and somehow Before face ended up facing Eliss even though that should be impossible. Their lip was then locked together as they crashed into the ground and Berot also ended up grabbing a hold of something soft albeit small.
However, the moment he squeezed it, he instantly regretted it as the face of the one he was accidentally kissing and turned red in both embarrassment and rage. He wanted to immediately pull away from her and escape, but it was already happening too late.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"BOOM!"
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