Chapter 97: Expedition [1]
Clank!
With the sound of the door closing, the room fell into a strange silence.
I waited for a whole minute before turning off the music and leaning back on my chair.
"That was close..."
I felt utterly drained. Ever since I found Rowan sprawled on the floor, I’d been desperately trying to make him forget the painting and the Dreamwalker. I couldn’t afford to have him reveal them.
If he ended up telling the Guild about them, then I’d have to find a way to explain to them how I got them, which could essentially lead to the system and all that nonsense.
I couldn’t afford to take the gamble, and as such...
I somehow managed to ’gaslight’ him into thinking it was just his nightmares and pent-up stress.
At first, I was worried it wouldn’t work, but looking at my shirt and seeing the wet spot on it, I felt like I had done a good job.
"I’ll have to throw away this shirt, though."
Who would’ve thought Rowan would go ahead and cry like that?
It honestly caught me off guard.
"Still, all that matters is that it somehow worked. At least for now."
I decided to schedule a few more appointments in order to ensure that he was completely ’converted’.
Only then would I feel safe.
To Tok—!
Lost in thought, I didn’t even realize that someone was knocking on the door.
By the time I did, the door opened, and Kyle’s face popped in.
"So? Are you ready...?"
"Huh?"
I blinked slowly, taking him in from head to toe. He wore a black shirt neatly tucked into brown shorts, his hands gripping the straps of his bag as he looked back at me.
"Ready?"
I turned my wrist and checked the time.
[09:47 AM]
Holy fuck!
Was it already almost time?
How did...
"What? Are you not ready? Do you need more time?"
"Ehh... wait, give me a moment."
Massaging my forehead, I shifted my attention towards my laptop.
To go, or not to go?
Every part of me rejected the notion, wanting to stay here and think of a way to create a new game. However, at heart, I knew that I had to go.
Not only would this help me learn more about the world and how the Guild operated, but it would also help serve as some sort of inspiration for my potential new game.
’Furthermore, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about my safety since I’m with the support squad.’
All I needed to do, realistically, was stay back while the field agents handled the main task.
I was then also reminded of something else.
’Don’t be passive.’
Indeed, I couldn’t remain passive.
The quests were only going to get harder from this point forward. From the conductor to the cult quest and all sorts of other variables.
I couldn’t remain passive.
There was simply no way for me to survive if I didn’t proactively try to improve.
As such...
"Alright, let’s go."
After shutting my laptop and slipping it into my bag, I stood up and walked over to Kyle.
"Wait, let me go to the bathroom first."
"What for?"
"Puke."
*
Several buses waited at the entrance of the Guild, lined up in a neat line.
"My bus is further in the back. Yours should be ahead. We’re going to the same location anyway, so it shouldn’t matter much."
Kyle and I split up the moment we came out of the Guild.
I walked toward one of the first buses, stopping in front of the one marked [02] before stepping inside. Looking to the side, it looked like I was one of the first people to arrive since there was hardly anyone inside.
But...
"....."
"What are you looking at?"
I turned away from her.
"Why are you looking away?"
".....?"
The hell...
At this point, I didn’t even know what to do.
"You know what, never mind. I can’t be bothered."
With a sigh, I looked back at her and took out my bag. Her brows furrowed when she saw my actions, but before she could say anything, I took out a packet of chips from my bag and tossed it at her.
"Here."
"Huh?"
Zoey blinked her eyes slowly, unable to process the situation as she caught the chips.
"I took yours by accident yesterday. I bought a new pack as an apology."
"Wha..."
This was the first time I had ever seen her this speechless. Somehow... it was a sight that made my lips curl. It was almost as though her brain had glitched.
I took in the sight before moving towards the back.
Two steps in, however, Zoey appeared to recover as she turned towards me, "No, wait... I like barbeque flavor, not regular flavor."
"You don’t?"
"Yeah..."
I paused for a moment before shrugging.
"You get what you get."
I didn’t get a reply after that as Zoey begrudgingly placed the chips down, staring at them with a mixed expression, mumbling things like, ’I really don’t like them though... Literally no flavor. What sort of psychopath likes regular flavor?’
"I can still hear you."
"I hope you did, you psychopath. Why would you buy such a bland flavor? Literally the most basic shit I’ve ever seen."
"If you don’t like them, you can give them back."
"No, they’re still mine."
"But you said you didn’t like them."
"And I don’t."
"Then...?"
"What?"
"You just..."
"What? What?"
I opened my mouth, but soon closed it. Even when she went on to say things like, ’I’m not giving it back, alright? They’re mine. You got that?’ I ignored her and found a seat at the back of the bus and closed my eyes.
I was quite exhausted from the incident prior with Rowan.
Time passed like that, and when I opened my eyes again, the bus was now full of unfamiliar faces. The chatter was quite loud, and everyone looked both nervous and excited about the upcoming expedition.
"May I have everyone’s attention?"
A burly man with shoulder-length black hair suddenly came into the bus, gathering everyone’s attention.
His demeanor was calm, his eyes unfocused, and his expression relaxed. However, something about his presence felt pressuring. He scanned the bus with his sharp eyes before he began to speak.
"I’ll make it quick since I know most of you probably don’t care. We’ll be heading to the fifth zone, so it’ll be about a twenty-minute drive. All of you should’ve received an email regarding the details of the place we’re going. Given that we’re dealing with a Melas-Ranked Anomalies, there’s a chance that we’ll meet those of the other Guilds. Do not engage if you see them."
I listened attentively while he spoke.
Although I was quite unfamiliar with the world, I still managed to grasp most of what he was saying.
The island, despite being ’small’ compared to the other islands, was still quite big.
It held a population of about five million people and covered a large area. The entire city was divided into nine zones, each expanding from the center of the city [Zone 1], which was where all the Guilds were located.
Surrounding Zone 1 in a clockwise manner, starting from the northeast, were Zones 2-9.
Each Guild controlled a certain zone of the city, with jurisdiction handed to the King and Queen grade Guilds. Most of the time, when something occurred within a Guild’s jurisdiction, it was the corresponding Guild’s responsibility to solve the situation.
That was, of course, unless it directly involved Gates or entities that were in the Melas rank or above.
If the entity was of the Melas-Rank, then all Guilds within the island could investigate the matter.
Thrall rank was when international Guilds could interfere, and Kermite was world-ending stuff.
As of right now, this ’Twisted-Man’ was of the Melas Rank, meaning that all Guilds within the islands had the right to investigate.
"I’d think this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: don’t take the bait if they try to provoke you. Just focus on what you need to do and ignore them. You’re all adults, so act like it."
That didn’t sound really good...
The fact that he had to warn us about it gave me a bad feeling.
"This happened too many times in the past for me not to warn you."
There it was.
’So this is something that happens often. Great...’
The man then proceeded to say a few more things before sitting down.
"Alright, get some rest. You’ll need it. It’s going to be a tough few days."
Following his words, the bus kicked into gear, and it started moving.
Leaning against the window, I stared at the changing scenery.
And with that, the expedition officially began.