Free Web NovelChapter 14: Recruitment (1)
"I’m Yara, by the way." The horned woman introduced herself as they made their way towards the city gates.
"Elyes over there is my second-in-command. He specializes in giving us support."
The man with messy brown hair lazily raised his hand in greeting.
"Then there’s Nyxie, our main damage dealer."
"Yeah, it’s a fancy way of saying I solve problems with a giant sword." Nyxie laughed. "If monsters show up, I’ll just cut them in half."
"And if they’re too strong?" Misha asked.
"Then I’ll have to cut them in half harder, right?" The woman with a pixie cut flashed Misha with a grin and gave her a casual wave. "Try not to die during the test."
"That’s a terrible thing to say to a newcomer, Nyx," Yara couldn’t help but rub her temple with a sigh. The last thing the team needed was another recruit running for the hills.
"I’m just being encouraging."
"You really aren’t." Finally, Yara gestured toward the man with scars on his face who happened to be leading the group at the moment. "And last but not the least, Gerbaut. He’s our vanguard."
"Are you guys affiliated with a guild?" Misha couldn’t help but ask.
"No, we aren’t," Yara answered. "We’re an independent party called Skyreach. But you don’t have to worry about getting a recommendation to become a Ranker. Even if we’re an independent party, we can still give you one."
"That’s good... but Skyreach?"
Yara smiled faintly. "Well, it’s a reminder why we’re here. We are aiming for the sky actually. We intend to climb all the way to the top and leave this place. That’s what our group name means." Yara chuckled. "Though as of the moment, our record is only the 7th floor."
"If our scout hadn’t betrayed us, we wouldn’t have to teleport back here. We would probably have reached Exodus by now." Nyxie grunted. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Exodus?" Misha looked at her with a questioning gaze.
"Exodus is a city on the 11th floor," Yara explained. "If it weren’t for the Mountain Walker, Genesis, and the other cities wouldn’t have existed. As far as anyone knows, he made it all the way to the 98th floor."
Misha’s eyes widened in disbelief. "W-what? The 98th floor?"
"Yeah, everyone knows he’s one of the First Generation Raiders."
If this Mountain Walker was a part of the First Generation, could he have known her brothers? Or perhaps... he was her brother?
The thought seemed absurd, yet she couldn’t dismiss it.
"That man’s an idiot," Nyxie grumbled. "Imagine reaching the 98th floor and then coming all the way back down. Why would anyone do that?"
"I-is this Mountain Walker guy still alive?" Misha asked nervously.
If she could only meet him once...
Nyxie gave a helpless shrug. "Probably not. The last time I saw him was when I was 6 years old. He was already an old man back then, so I’d be surprised if he were still alive. No one really saw him for the past 20 years."
She bit her lower lip, her hopes sinking. She had known the chances were slim. Deep down, she had prepared herself for this answer. Even so, hearing it out loud felt different.
A small knot formed in her chest. Her fingers curled against her palm. The news wasn’t encouraging, but Misha refused to let it discourage her even further. It was too early to give up. She had only just entered the Tower. She was still on the First Floor. Countless floors remained above her, along with countless opportunities to uncover new clues.
So not yet, she wasn’t going to give up just yet. Not until she reached the top. Not until she exhausted every lead, and not until she found her brothers.
≈≈≈
Before long, the city walls disappeared behind them. The group eventually arrived at a wide grassy field dotted with rocks and patches of wildflowers. There, Gerbaut finally stopped. He turned around and cracked his knuckles as he readied himself. "I’ll be the one testing you."
Misha couldn’t help but gulp nervously. Why did that sound less like a test and more like a threat? Did she do something to upset him?
With a casual flick of his wrist, a plain wooden pole appeared in his hand from a storage ring. "I will be using this."
Misha’s eyes widened slightly. That item came out of his subspace, right?
She wanted one. In fact, she wanted one very badly. It was another thing to add to her growing list of the things she wanted.
Gerbaut planted the butt of the pole against the ground and looked at her calmly. "If you manage to land one hit on me, you win." His gaze landed on the rapier on her waist. "Feel free to use your sword."
Misha immediately knew this was a trap. There was no way someone like her was landing a hit on someone like him. "Um... are we really going to use weapons? This thing is sharp, you know. What if I accidentally hurt you?"
"You should be more concerned about yourself," Nyxie commented with a smirk.
"Elyes will intervene before anyone gets seriously injured in this spar," Yara assured her.
"I really don’t want to do this..." She mumbled to herself.
Still, she drew her rapier. The silver blade slid from its head with a metallic hiss.
This was her first time holding a rapier in actual combat. She had no idea how the weapon was supposed to be used, but as far as she was concerned, all swords worked the same way, right?
Point, stab, then win. The theory sounded simple enough.
The scarred man remained expressionless. "Whenever you’re ready."
Misha took a deep breath before rushing forward, her blade aiming towards his chest.
Gerbaut casually shifted half a step to the side. The thrust missed completely.
Misha had already expected that.
「 Trait in Effect: Analytical Thinking 」
「 Mental focus sharpened. 」
The moment Gerbaut swung his pole, Misha drew the dagger resting against the outside of her thigh and caught the blow with a backhanded guard.
Nyxie let out a low whistle. "A dual wielder huh?"
Misha was smaller than Gerbaut, but that wasn’t the real problem. He was a veteran, and she was a complete beginner.
Whack!
The wooden pole slammed into her stomach. The impact knocked the air from her lungs.
Thud!
Misha crashed on the ground. She curled slightly as the pain exploded through her abdomen. She gritted her teeth and pressed a hand against her stomach. When she attempted to stand, her balance failed her, and she nearly fell again.
"That was just the first hit." Elyes, who had never said a word since earlier, finally opened his mouth. "I don’t think she’s worth recruiting."
"S-should... should I have looked more graceful while flying through the air?" Misha spat on the side before she tried to stand up once again. "S... sorry, I was under the impression that pain was supposed to be painful..."
Elyes stared at Misha for a moment, clearly not expecting that she would retort that way.
"At least you still have enough energy to be sarcastic," he said flatly.
Nyxie, on the other hand, burst out laughing. "Ha! I like this one already!" She pointed at Misha. "Did you see his face? You actually talked back to Ely!"
Misha ignored them and focused on Gerbaut, who patiently waited for her to get back on her feet.
After another unsteady attempt, she finally managed to stand. She removed her cloak and tossed it aside before drawing another dagger. The first had slipped from her grasp when Gerbaut sent her flying.
Her grips tightened both on her rapier and dagger. Gerbaut was nothing like the goblins she had killed since he was skilled and more dangerous.
A knot formed in heer stomach. What was she supposed to do? He had dodged her attack effortlessly and knocked her down with a single strike. What if she couldn’t even land a single hit? What if this was hopeless?
「 Trait in Effect: Calm Under Pressure 」
「 Fear and panic suppressed. 」
Misha’s racing thoughts slowed and her breathing steadied.
If only she had a skill that could suppress pain. That would be far more useful right now. Her [Microscopic Examination] wouldn’t be useful in this situation. As for [Soul Inventory], it wasn’t much better.
If not for her [Traits], would she even stand a chance against someone like Gerbaut?
"Is there seriously no skill trading system here?" She muttered under her breath.
Ding!
A gray window appeared before her.
「 〔 SYSTEM NOTICE 〕
A valid request has been detected. 」
「 Available Skill for Trade: Microscopic Examination (R)
Would you like to exchange a Skill?
Yes | No 」
