Chapter 376 Emergency Quest
The next morning, Shiro decided to go a little slower on her bike since Lisandra's fatigued body was currently sleeping on her back.
Wondering if she should make her motorbike into a car instead, she travelled towards the base of Mount Fuji in a relatively slow pace that allowed Lisandra to sleep soundlessly.
Disguising the bike's appearance so that it looked normal, Shiro arrived at a nearby town that was situated next to a lake.
Looking at the great mountain not too far away in the distance, Shiro couldn't help but whistle at how impressive the mountain looked.
Of course, that was only because since the top is covered with snow, it meant that she could theoretically thrive at the top.
"I wonder how big my spells would be if I used the snow to my advantage." Shiro muttered with a smile.
*Yawn.~
"You up? Did you rest well?" Shiro asked as she felt Lisandra wake up behind her.
"Mn… good enough I guess. Where are we now?" Lisandra asked as she looked around in a daze.
"Oh just a village/town near the base of Mount Fuji. Unless it's something important, I'll only be investigating the celestial trial a little before making my way to Tokyo. The trial won't be open for another three months after all." Shiro smiled.
"I see… in that case then can I go get something to eat? I'm a bit famished after last night." Lisandra rubbed her eyes a little as Shiro suppressed her urge to just hug her.
'Damn why is Lisa so adorable lately?'
{Maybe because your attention is on her instead of Yin who just eats?} Nimue chuckled.
'That… might be the truth in all honesty.'
Shaking her head, she sped up her bike a little and made her way to the closest restaurant she had on the map.
During this, she decided to have a look at their levels.
"Hmm… most of them average out around level 80 give or take with quite a few at level 100 or above too." Shiro muttered.
"It doesn't really matter to you does it mum? Though, I do wonder if I can kill a level 100+ by myself. I do have a few berserk skills and buffs to enhance myself." Lisandra wondered.
"Don't try it without me being close since the only reason I could is because of my current skill set and some luck. At their level, just a single attack could spell doom for you." Shiro warned since fighting B class was no laughing matter.
If not for the fact that she had several powerful skills to help her out, she would not challenge them, not even with her Nanomancer class.
She was many things but suicidal was not one of them.
"Hmm, just curious though. If the whole party could kill B ranked people when they're level 100, we should be able to kill a B ranked boss right?" Lisandra replied.
"Depends on what kind of boss we're talking about. If it's a raid type boss, f*ck no. if it's a dungeon type boss, f*ck yes we can." Shiro chuckled.
"I see… oh by the way, how would you rate my performance mum? With the inclusion of your killing intent, it was quite hard to concentrate and pick out the real danger but I think I can get the hang of it soon." Lisandra asked as she had an excited shine in her eyes.
Smiling wearily, Shiro wondered why Lisandra was such a battle maniac. This kind of gaze would not be present should she be talking about something else and yet, here it is the moment she speaks about training.
{She kind of takes after you in that regard since you do nothing but research and fighting.}
'Oh shut it. Surely I do ot-… ok never mind maybe you're right.' Shiro paused since she realised that that was indeed all she had done. If she wasn't fighting she was researching. If she wasn't researching she would be fighting. There were very few moments where she would actually relax like she was now.
Returning her focus back to Lisandra, she evaluated her performance mentally.
"You're doing great so far. If I had to give you an area to improve on, I would say work on your decision making. You hesitate a little too much before you launch an attack. Whether that's because you're working out on where to place the mana bubbles or the fact that you're trying to figure out if an attack is a feint or not, you want to be reducing your hesitation time as much as possible." Shiro replied after a moment.
For her, she's able to get a 3d model of all the attacks around her and figure out the best attacking path but that's not something everyone could do so her best advice was to just try to reduce the time it takes for her to think about her attack.
Of course, that's not to say that she should just throw out attacks blindly.
"Hmm… I'll try." Lisandra nodded since she had seen Shiro's performance and knew of the gap that existed between the two of them.
Since it's reaction time and decision making that she needed to practice on, she was going to make sure that they're up to par either soon or in the near future.
After having some food, Shiro and Lisandra made their way towards Mount Fuji.
Unfortunately, just as they left the village, they saw guards and a barrier in the distance, stopping people from going closer to Mount Fuji.
Furrowing her brows, she decided to get closer and see what was going on.
Putting away her bike, she walked up to one of the guards
"Excuse me, sorry for bothering you but why are there so many guards around? And it seems like we're not allowed to go to Mount Fuji." Shiro asked with a slightly difficult face.
"I guess you're new around and didn't see the notification. You see, there was an abnormal rise in monster activity in the mountains. With most of the monsters being B class, it is very dangerous for anyone to approach the mountain. You can probably find some more information out in the guild." The guard replied with a smile.
"Hmm… that's a problem. I know you said to find information out at the guild but do you have an idea of what kind of monsters are here?"
"No idea. The monsters change often and it's gone through quite a few species. From Snow Woman to Boreal Golems and so on." The guard shrugged.
Nodding her head, Shiro took out her motorbike and drove back with Lisandra hugging behind her once more.
"Snow Woman huh? I wonder what a meeting between me and them would be like? I still have my fratricide title so I'll get hostility from the Snow Girls and acknowledgement from the Snow Woman. Hopefully, there won't be any Snow Girls around." Shiro chuckled.
"Mn, what do you think happened mum? For so many monsters to gather, it's clearly abnormal." Lisandra asked.
"There are many probabilities ranging from the spawning of a treasure that can be used passively by monsters to the sudden increase of mana. It could also be that a strong monster has laid claim to the area and brought guards along with it. Regardless, it's best we sort this out while we have a lot of time." Shiro replied.
That way, she could avoid any unnecessary hassle at the time the Celestial Trials open. It would be awkward to have to wait a few more months for it to open should they miss it after all.
"True."
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Arriving at the guild hall, Shiro didn't even have to look for the notice since there were plenty of people standing in front of the giant holographic message.
[Emergence Quest – Investigate the sudden rise in monster activity in Mount Fuji]
Due to the recent outbreak of monsters on the mountain, you are tasked to investigate its cause. So far, the monsters have been revealed to be B class monsters such as the Snow Woman.
Only B classed adventurers or higher are eligible to take this task. As for those in the C class, you may join if you're partnered with a B class or prove that you can stand against a B class.
As this is a scouting mission, no combat is needed and prioritise your life.
Rewards will differ depending on how reliable your information is. However, the base reward is 20 Large Silvers for each participating member.
Those who are able to stop the cause and resolve it will be granted an Orange Grade equipment.
You may register for this quest at the reception and undergo a test. Once you are proven to be capable, you'll be given a special ID card that will allow you to pass the barrier into Mount Fuji. Should you try to sneak in, a fine will be issued.
Guild Master – Sugita Hitomi