United in Hatred Arc: Chapter 19.
"We are the First Copper Legion."
The burly man said, shaking Winter's hands. The group was experienced, with several job completions under their belt. Despite being an experienced group, they were rather young.
There were six adventurers in the group, four young men and two young women, and they were all roughly around the same age.
Winter explained that he needed some help for a culling job, and the group leader had surprisingly agreed. Winter was wary because of this.
"I am Biggy Dakpanay." The burly man said, the leader of the group. His face showed years of wisdom despite his age; his hair was also greying. He wore a simple padded leather armor and then two small axes sheathed on his waist.
◆ [ A melee tank type. ] ◆
"My name is Virgin Besong." A woman introduced herself with a gentle voice, and her light pinkish hair fluttered because of a breeze. Her outfit resembled that of a nun. Two small crosses were drawn on her outfit's chest area. She was carrying a wooden staff with a crescent-shaped tip.
◆ [ A faith caster support type. ] ◆
"My name is Lamion Ang Malatang Og Tanghulu." A woman introduced herself with a disinterested voice. "Call me Lamion." The woman had quite a lengthy name. Her hair was short and reddish, and she wore skimpy shorts and a tight blue tank top. There was a silver sword on her back. A speedy melee type.
◆ [ A speedy melee type. ] ◆
A man held out his hand, expecting a handshake. "My name is Dippte Ann Jew." A tall, pale man introduced himself. He wore a simple padded leather armor. His hair was short and somewhat curly. He didn't have a single weapon.
◆ [ A bare-handed close-quarter combat specialist. ] ◆
"I am Groze." A man introduced himself while grabbing a shy younger man. The youngest of the group. "This is Geese." He's my younger brother. The two young men would look like twins with a small height difference if it weren't for the younger sibling having a scar on the right cheek. They both had a short sword but no armor; it seemed like they were new.
◆ [ Two melee fighters. ] ◆
The group has finished their introductions. Winter then introduced himself after familiarizing their faces. "My name is Winter Icecream. Nice to meet you all."
As soon as he introduced himself, Lamion snappily raised a brow. As if she heard something strange but kept quiet nevertheless.
"Now, let's discuss business." Biggy Dakpanay said while rubbing his hands. "This is a silver-tiered job, but you're talking to one of the most capable bronze groups out there." He said while putting out his chest with pride.
"We'll take it if you accompany us. However, we'll take sixty percent of the profits and forty percent for you since we'll be doing most of the work."
"It's also located in the Trail Green Forest. That's not too far from here, four hours of travel via horse carriage."
He said, extending a hand, waiting for an agreement.
◆ [Analyzing current group's mood: Ambivalent yet willing. They're gauging you. ] ◆
"May I ask why you're so eager? I mean, help is always welcome, but I thought I wouldn't be able to convince you to join me that easily..."
"We're aiming for silver." Dippte Ann Jew said with a wink.
"We need all the jobs that we can get, especially exterminations or culling jobs." Virgin Besong added in while reading the job post. "This job post was just issued; no wonder I missed this earlier."
After some time of deliberation, Winter ultimately shook Biggy's hands and accepted the offer. The Cold League and the First Copper Legion have made an official temporary cooperation to cull the manifested wolves population.
....
....
....
The group has arrived at the Trail Green forest via a horse carriage. The entrance of the Trail Green Forest had a lot of danger signs and banners. It warned that there were dangerous monsters inside, sometimes manifested ones.
They've then slowly made their way inside the forest with Biggy Dakpanay leading the way. Winter closely followed Biggy, extremely alert.
Lamion accidentally stepped in mud, lightly infuriating her. "Damn these forests, why are there so many manifestations lately?"
"I'm not complaining, more work for us. Although I would've preferred if we teamed up with a bigger group instead." Virgin said, quickly stealing a glance at Winter.
"W-what are these manifestations anyway?" Geese said with a nervous expression.
"Oh, right, yeah, this is going to be your first encounter," Biggy said with a thoughtful expression. "Manifestations are monsters that came from summoning orbs or a general area's concentration of magic and conditions."
"In this case, these shadow wolves, I'm guessing they're from the surrounding area's magic concentration and conditions."
"I see....?" Geese answered with an unsure expression, still not quite grasping the idea.
"In the golden age of heroes, there were monster manifestations everywhere. Back then, they were like cockroaches because of the Dragon Lords' powerful magic. The stronger manifestations served as the Dragon Lords' army, whereas the weaker manifestations served as their terror tools.
"These weaker manifestations have persisted even long after the Dragon Lords' defeat. It's the reason why the Adventurer League will always have a lot of jobs."
Virgin then added. "Recently, a gold-tier group called the Night Generals has managed to capture a summoning orb, a relic. They've lifted the 'Night Curse' that has plagued the night forest for almost two years." She said with a hint of admiration.
Winter clicked his tongue upon hearing the name of the group that betrayed him. It was mainly because of him that the night forest was now free. A fact that had truth to it.
(Claudia said that summoning orbs grow weaker the more you kill their summons. I've killed a lot of undead while those frauds killed only a few dozen.)
(They saved my life from that armored undead, but I could've killed it even if they didn't come. I am sure of it....?) Winter thought, tightly clenching the hilt of the scorch dagger.
The group continued their trek for twenty minutes until Biggy held up a hand, causing the group to stop and lower their stances.