‘Since we’re not technically in the loop of what’s going on behind the scenes, all we can do is speculate. Still, we shouldn’t take any chances. There are still a few hours left until the main forces in the Land of Unity advance into Malentansium. In that case…’
Izroth removed a scroll along with a feathered pen from his inventory. The feathered pen in his hand swiftly weaved together words onto the scroll.
The next moment, Izroth closed the scroll as a magic seal appeared on its surface.
This magic seal not only had a trace of Izroth’s mana print within it but would also let anyone know if the scroll had been opened after it was sealed.
Izroth had been given these tools in case he could not be there in person to deliver sensitive information. However, he did not expect to use them until it was to report a successful elimination of the Tempest mages.
“Hollow Crane, use a teleportation scroll and return to Xanaharpe. Once you arrive, make your way over to the Land of Unity and find the War Brigade 2nd Unit Commander of the 1st Legion Aurie. Tell her I sent you and deliver this scroll to her personally.” Izroth said as he held out the scroll for Hollow Crane to take.
“Yes.” Hollow Crane replied as he accepted the scroll; however, when he tried to take the scroll, it was still firmly in Izroth’s grip.
“This must only exchange hands once—from your hands to Commander Aurie’s. No one else is to come into contact with this scroll, understood?” Izroth stated solemnly.
Hollow Crane felt as if a heavy weight had abruptly found its way onto his shoulders. It was just delivering a message from Xanaharpe to the Land of Unity, but… Why did it feel like such an overwhelming responsibility?
Regardless, Hollow Crane had no intention of turning it down. Even though Izroth allowed him to join the 9th Division, Hollow Crane did not know what kind of impression the Captain had of him. This was his chance to improve his image in Izroth’s eyes after what took place back during the test.
“Understood! I won’t even let a fly get near it!” Hollow Crane responded seriously with a look of determination in his eyes.
Izroth gave a small nod as he released the scroll, “After you deliver the scroll, you are to stay with Commander Aurie’s unit and follow their instructions.”
Hollow Crane set the scroll into his inventory as he cupped his fists toward Izroth and said, “I will do as you say.”
Suddenly, a translucent orb no larger than one’s fist formed in the palm of Izroth’s hand. As the orb finished materializing, a soft cerulean light began to flow inside of it.
“Also, take this,” Izroth said as he tossed the orb over to Hollow Crane.
Hollow Crane was caught off guard and fumbled a bit but was able to catch the orb in his hands as he released a small sigh of relief.
At first, Hollow Crane thought it was some kind of magic item. But, upon closer inspection, he realized that it was something much more valuable for someone with a rogue-type class like himself.
“This is…!” Hollow Crane’s eyes widened in shock as he sucked in a wave of cold air.
It was an item he had never seen before in RML—a skill orb! More importantly, although this skill orb stated that this skill was only B-ranked, its growth potential was actually SS-ranked!
One had to know that for players like them, obtaining an SS-ranked skill was a distant dream at best.
No, wait, skills could jump that many ranks?! It was uncommon, but a few skills at their max level could increase the overall skill’s rank by one grade. But, to be able to jump from B-rank to SS-rank—wasn’t that leap a little too ridiculous?!
Not to mention, Izroth was just giving him such a valuable thing despite what happened in the test.
“I thought the Captain would think less of me after what transpired at the 9th Division’s test or make things difficult until I won over his favor, but… He never even put such a thing in his eyes. I was a fool to think my small actions would be enough to move this person.” Hollow Crane thought to himself as he released a sigh of defeat and awe.
The look of determination in Hollow Crane’s eyes seemed to soar to new heights. At that moment, he made a decision. Regardless of what happened, in the future, he would follow Izroth and the 9th Division through a pit of flames if need be!
‘Although I can only create a skill orb every 24 hours, it’s a good thing creating the same skill orb does not consume an additional slot.’
Izroth gave Hollow Crane the Skill Orb: Phantom Shift. It was the same skill orb he granted to Azalea before he went off to the Secret Realm; however, its rank and advancement depended entirely on how much effort was put forth by the person using it.
“Thank you, Captain! I won’t disappoint you!” Hollow Crane stated as he consumed the skill orb and bowed respectfully.
The other players from the 9th Division were taken aback by Hollow Crane’s actions. They were curious as to what Izroth gave him that caused him to react in such an over-the-top way. Just what was that orb?
After giving a final farewell, Hollow Crane used a teleportation scroll and was on their way back to Xanaharpe.
Once Hollow Crane departed, Izroth turned to Niflheim and Menerva.
“For now, we’ll keep quiet about this and let Commander Aurie handle things on her end. We still have a mission to complete, so our focus needs to be here.” Izroth stated in a carefree manner.
“Yes,” Niflheim replied.
“Understood,” Menerva responded.
“We still have one more person who needs to make their report. Heartless Jade—did you find anything?” Niflheim asked as he looked over at Heartless Jade.
“This… Well…” Heartless Jade lightly scratched the side of his face with a slight look of embarrassment.
While he did not understand the specifics, based on everyone’s reactions, he knew that the information Hollow Crane delivered had to be of significant importance. How was he supposed to follow that up?
Niflheim frowned, “What is it? If you’re withholding something because you’re unsure, don’t worry about it. We’ll determine whether or not it’s relevant. All you have to do is say it.”
“Steak… All the troops stationed in Gale’s Eye are having steak before their departure…” Heartless Jade said as he tried to keep his composure.
He then continued, “I also heard that one of the Guard Commanders adopted a new dog recently…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone remained silent as Heartless Jade made his report. However, could this even be called a report? Steak? A new dog? What the heck were they supposed to do with that information?!
For some reason, Heartless Jade felt a wave of defeat wash over him as he completed his report.
“Well, don’t feel too down. After all, we did say to report anything regardless of its relevance.” Niflheim said with a helpless smile.
Though he did not think it was necessary to mention sorting through the most basic of information like someone’s dinner plans.
…
A few minutes later…
The gates to the Gale’s Eye outpost opened as thousands of troops marched out in an orderly fashion before getting in formation in front of the outpost.
Niflheim, “They’re starting to move. Remember, stay down and out of sight until we say otherwise.”
Niflheim switched over the main way of communicating to voice chat to ensure that everyone could hear him clearly.
As Niflheim gave a reminder to the members of the 9th Division, a warhorse galloped out of the Gale Eye’s outpost and dashed to the front of the troops at incredible speeds.
Wherever the person on the warhorse passed, the surrounding troops immediately lowered their heads in a show of both respect and fear.
Neeeeigh!
The person on the warhorse pulled the reigns after reaching the front of the formation.
Niflheim, “Pay attention. That person is the one who will be leading the charge for Tempest at the Night Lord’s Crypt. It’ll also be their second in command that we’ll be facing later.”
On the back of the warhorse was a woman in light blue and white robes. She appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties. She had fair unblemished skin, short white hair that did not fall past the nape of her neck, and a fierce look in her lily-blue eyes.
With one look, one could tell that this person was someone used to standing above others, especially on the battlefield. However, with the potent mana that naturally flowed around their body, there was a clear reason behind the great amount of confidence they exuded.
This person was someone who instilled respect and fear into the troops of Tempest, Glacia.
NPC Name: First File of the 10th Tempest Legion, Glacia(???)
NPC Level: ???
