Even after a couple of hours, the mood in the camp still was pretty dark. While Jake woke up refreshed thanks to his nap, things there sure looked pretty bothersome.
"What is this?" Jake asked. "Hurry up, Lana. Say something stupid to improve the mood."
"… What do you think I am, a clown?" Lana asked.
"You are not a clown. You are the entire circus," Jakes grinned from ear to ear.
"Why, you little…" Lana clenched her teeth in annoyance.
"There is no need for things to be so dark here," Jake said. "The brat wants to stay, and the two airheads want to make her a part of the group. While I won't like working with someone who put a knife on my neck, this will be necessary for the future."
"You don't mind if I stay?" Karina asked.
"Of course, I will mind. Do I need to repeat myself?" Jake asked. "However, for the future of this party, I will have to compromise here."
Karina began to cry since that seemed her first step toward forgiveness, and Lana looked relieved. Truth to be told, Lana and Louise really wanted Karina to stay. Still, it would be meaningless if it caused conflict in the party, so the decision was in Jake's hands. Despite all that, Louise looked troubled. No one could understand what was passing inside Jake's head, so it was hard to imagine what he meant by for the future of the party…
Planet Solmathea - Mission: kill ten thousand ice slimes and five ice slime bosses. Reward: 20.000 coins, 2000 fame, and a magic item.
Planet Solmathea - Mission: kill ten thousand imps and five imp bosses. Reward: 20.000 coins, 2000 fame, and a tome.
Planet Miamia - Mission: attack the Druids. Reward: 30.000 coins, 3000 fame, and Undead Staff.
Planet Miamia - Mission: defend the Druids. Reward: 30.000 coins, 3000 fame, and Nature Bow.
Planet Rainia: prevent the Anaconda's dungeon from breaking in 30 days. Reward: 20.000 coins, 2000 fame, and a special class.
When Jake checked the missions list, he found that. Aside from the ones he already had cleared, their options had actualized a little bit. It seemed that they found the planet where they could find Luke's guild, but something seemed off. Karina had more fame than Jake, so how come she didn't unlock that mission yet? Did she lie, or one of the requirements to go to that planet was clearing the salamanders' dungeon? They still needed to learn a lot about the system…
"It seems that we can access the planets where we might find Luke, so prepare yourselves since we will leave in one hour," Jake said.
"Finally!" Lana said. "Let's hope that we will find Luke there… otherwise, facing snakes will be pretty much pointless."
"Well, if anything, we are getting closer to him," Louise said. "Still, I am a bit troubled. If he really has the power to teleport, he should be able to find us in this world."
"That is true… why do you think he didn't do that, Jake?" Lana asked.
"He is testing us," Jake said while he was sitting in the lotus position and making his arrow made of dark flames fly around him. "Since many people of this world don't have the will to try the hardest missions, only someone stupid, brave, or who was the skills will arrive on the planet he is. That is probably one of the minimal requirements to join his guild."
"Why did he offer us the chance to join his guild in the tutorial them?" Lana asked. "He was probably testing you two if you were the type who would select the easy path instead of the harsh one."
"And he wasn't testing you?" Lana frowned.
"He knew that I am the type of guy who gets overly suspicious due to some too-good offers," Jake replied.
It was hard to imagine all that since Luke looked like a pretty easy-going guy who was always having fun. However, Lana and Louise had a feeling that Jake was right. Maybe he always looked like he was having fun because of his job of looking for people who might pass the tutorial. If that was the case, then dealing with him will be hard from now on, but they didn't have any other choice since he was the only one who could go back to Earth.
"I think that even if we don't find Luke on the next planet, we should at least make our new base there," Louise said. "Thanks to Jake's actions, he might be pursued by Rick's allies who didn't know of his true nature."
"Well, if they want my head, then I will welcome them with my sword in hand," Jake said. "This planet is good enough as a base, I can sleep without worrying about monsters eating me alive, so I couldn't ask for more."
The real problem was the fact that Jake wouldn't be the only one targeted, those with him might end up getting involved in the fight, but that was only a minor problem that won't last for long.
Nevertheless, the group got ready after a while, and then Jake selected the next mission. Once again, the group traveled to a place that was covered in some high vegetation. Everything looked green in all directions. While the number of trees around wasn't enough to make a forest, it sure was enough for people not to be able to see much in the distance.
"This seems like a good place to hide any camps…" Lana said.
"Don't worry about finding them. They will find us," Jake said.
"How can you be so sure?" Lana asked.
"Because the mission gives us thirty days to clear it, which is the max between dungeon breaks," Jake replied. "Either we got this mission as soon as someone cleared it, or the dungeon is cleared pretty often by a large group. Either way, we will find the answer soon enough. Right now, focus on the terrain since I can see the grass moving, but I can't see any monsters…"
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