The receptionist with the red hair was already up at the counter. I went towards her and ordered another Fiery Soup to have for breakfast before I went out. Thus, the morning began on a happy note
I moved outside into the town and saw the world during daytime for the first time. A blanket of snow covered the buildings and the paths, making for a beautiful sight as the rays of the sun shone through
I looked up to see the huge mountains surrounding us far in the distance as well as the four grand land masses that were stably positioned in the air without a single movement. I still couldn't even begin to understand how such a thing was possible
A few people could be seen every now and then ascending the long brides attached further inland from this town.
I looked away from the majestic sight of floating islands and went towards the [Mercenary's Hideout], where a collection of colorful rugged men and women were cl.u.s.tered
Putting energy into the medal I received the day before, most of the thin lines of people were grouped up in one location that allowed me to find them all very easily. There was a large space behind the grand building that had white winged beasts moving around. Someone was holding a large basin that he pulled out large chunks of meat from to feed the beasts
The people in the extermination task force were cl.u.s.tered in a group on the side talking amongst themselves as they all waited for the appointed time.
The minutes passed by quickly as a large man whose entire body emanated power came out to the clearing.
"Alright boys and girls, gather around!"
At these words, the mercenaries that were mostly rank A with a few rank S ones in the group all looked towards this figure with full attention.
"The mission this time is plain and simple. The Skypeak Nest is showing signs of rapid movements again, which means the beasts are increasing and getting more restless. We're not gonna spend too much time there, just clear out a few leaders and their groups before we return. I am Captain Ryner, and I'll be leading this excursion to make sure there are no deaths!"
The large man spoke out with a powerful voice that seemed to rouse the spirits of everyone here.
"After we successfully return, each person in attendance will receive 5,000 gold coins and keep any cores from the beasts they manage to take down."
At the mention of rewards, the mercenaries shouted out as we began moving towards the large groups of winged beasts. Each beast could take on more than five people, and I found myself soaring through the skies with three rank A mercenaries and one rank S. I would follow the lead of others for now as I learn more about these Nests and choose how to move from there
The winged beasts we were riding on had heads that looked similar to an eagle's, but their wide bodies that allowed more than 5 people to stand on showed they were something else. I found out they were called Whitewing Beasts, a type of beast that could easily be tamed as long as it was fed daily
We flew on these beasts and passed the huge wall of a fortress where guards with similar beasts were stationed. Mercenaries assigned to specific missions had the pass to fly over the town if they were using these beasts
We left the entry town of the Frozen Kingdom and went towards the huge floating landmass I had seen on the way here. I listened to the conversations of two of the mercenaries that seemed to be familiar with each other who were talking about this Nest
"Oy, remember to follow the lead of that Captain. I've heard some inflated nobodies ignored commands and went further into the beast nest only to never come out."
"Tsk, how many times do you have to give pointers eh? I know we'll definitely be staying in the outer ring of the nest this time around. There should be very few S rank beasts out there"
The two seemed to be arguing and giving each other tips to stay alive all at once. But their words indicated that there were powerful beasts congregated in this floating island. I wasn't sure how far into the Nest the beasts higher than rank S would start to appear
I kept my mouth shut just in case, as I didn't want there to be any possibility of me giving something about my identity away. I would learn as things progress and find some time to locate a library after this to spend some time there and see what more I can learn about this world.
The collection of memories that the System put together after absorbing the essence of many beasts was just that, mostly memories from low ranking beasts. I would have to do my own research to fully grasp the workings of a place like this kingdom where humans had control
We neared the floating landmass after twenty minutes, where the outline of the island became visible. Using [Eagle Eyes], I watched as I saw groups of beasts walking around near the edge of the landmass. Dense and extremely tall trees blanketed in snow began rising as my sight looked further in, where barely anything but a white outline of trees could be seen
The Whitewing Beasts landed on the edge of the land mass as they drew the attention of surrounding beasts that rushed over here. Beasts ranging from C and all the way to A were running about
Captain Ryner took the lead, jumping off the winged beast like a valiant warrior as his body seemed to be bubbling with energy. There was a large red broadsword that appeared in his arms, which he swung towards the coming beasts. A parabolic line of flames was drawn out, going forward and bisecting all the incoming beasts
"Alright lads, the battle begins now. When you see the ugly faces of rank S beasts appear, especially the larger Leaders, be on high alert!"
The leaders he was mentioning were what I considered BOSSes or TITANs back then, with them holding a denser collection of essence that allowed for skills and items to be farmed from. Many were large to correspond to their large amounts of energy, but the truly powerful ones could be small, as they held enough control over their energy to remain that size and use it to their advantage.
The mercenaries spread out as those of the S rank took the lead, with me following closely behind the captain as we went further into the Skypeak Nest.
Chapter 73 - EPIC!
I was able to see the power of the humans of this world first hand as I observed the leading peak rank S captain hold his own against a rank S BOSS. We didn't have to move too far in to come in contact with them
After passing through the large trees that were covered by snow, ferocious looking white beasts began appearing. They had disproportionately large hands and feet with smaller bodies that didn't seem to match. This size was even more exaggerated when it came to the rank S Leader that neared 10 meters
Sharp icicles would form at the wave of these beast's hands as the mercenaries worked together to bring them down. The leading S rank, Captain Ryner, was holding his own while standing against a Leader, his large broadsword roiling with fire elements as each clash left wounds on the beast
I worked with the group I came with as I continued observing everything first, using the rank A [Infernal Purge] every few seconds after watching some of the fire power of the few rank S mercenaries in the group
The blazing flames that came crashing down were extremely deadly to the normal beasts, setting their entire bodies aflame if a single one touched them.
As for the looting of cores, the mercenaries cut open the heads of the beasts they killed to pull out cores much larger than what I had been used to seeing. These were the full cores of beasts that weren't broken down into smaller portions by the system that hunters back in my world worked with
When it came to the monsters I took down myself, I recalled the words of the System. I would be in a different world, but still holding that same power. The only change was that it would only be triggered when I came in contact with the beings that I took down
To make things even more seamless, the extracted essence in the form of skill books, items, or cores would directly be placed in one of my storage rings when I would normally 'harvest cores' like other inhabitants of this world
With this in mind, the extermination groups moved forward while staying close together and ta
king down the beasts that came rushing out. I was amazed at the strength of the humans here, as even the rank A mercenaries utilized their strength and essence better than the hunters I had always observed
Only after the hunters begin to fully utilize [Skill Combination] do I see them catching up and eventually exceeding this level of strength. The S rank hunters came out with colorfully destructive spells that mowed down the normal rank A beasts and would only be blocked by rank S leaders
One red haired mercenary raised her magic staff forward and a blazing phoenix appeared in the next moment, rushing towards a group of beasts where it exploded and engulfed them in flames in an instant
I observed all of this as I continued to use [Infernal Purge] to take down normal rank A and S beasts, along with a few rank A leaders so that I could increase my collection of rank A skills. Today wasn't the day for me to go all out and massacre everything on sight, I would watch and learn as much as I could, before I find the time to come out here myself and go all out
I was filled with expectations as I thought about running around this huge Nest with all the beasts in it. I would have confirm the highest power of beasts that laid deeper in the nest first though, as I couldn't play around with my life
The power I was showing matched the rank S mercenaries, as even though the damage was somewhat lower than rank S skills, I could put up the act that [Infernal Purge] could be casted more frequently because of its low damage
My role in the task force became handling the large groups of normal rank A and S beasts, while the other rank S mercenaries clashed against the leaders. Low key. I had to start off by being low key for now.
Captain Ryner began looking towards me favorably as I made the work easier by clearing many of the beasts with the area of attack skills.
My attention wasn't all placed onto this one thing though, as during the hunt I had always been checking and combining the active defense and support skills that continued to rise in proficiency.
Through the combinations, I was able to produce a few compatible rank B+ skills that weren't worth a mention as they were right now, but would be useful when I received rank A skills through them. It would take a few more days, but those few days meant more than four rank A skills would come to light from the combination of multiple rank B+ skills
I smiled at this thought, as rising skills this way meant I could continue to build up compatible skills that will be able to combine to rank S with no problems. Defense and support skills that boosted me by a large margin would not be a game of chance anymore
The extermination task force was performing extremely well with the decent leadership from the captain and my addition that made the work all the easier. An entire half a day passed as we moved across the fringes of the Skypeak Nest, never daring to go too far in land. After we cleared many of the disproportionately sized beasts, we came across other varieties as we went further in
After we finished clearing a few more beast groups, the mercenaries came to a halt at the command of Captain Ryner. His hand was in the air as he looked forward with deep concentration. We were in a position that was further inland than any other time as the beasts had begun to thin out in the periphery. His large voice rang out
"We will stop here today. If we move any further in we will intrude in an EPIC ranked beast's territory."
At the mention of this, the mercenaries adopted solemn faces as they began to move back. My heart palpitated as I confirmed the next rank above S. EPIC rank. Many ideas passed in my head before I quickly knocked them down. I wouldn't be so rash as to have a head on collision of something that high of a rank before I collect many defensive rank S skills
I would rather be overly prepared and protected then suddenly lose my life with rash decisions. I breathed out calmly as I followed the rest of the group to move out of the huge land floating in the sky. A voice rang out I was lost in my thoughts
"Rookie, exemplary work out there today, it cut our time by more than an hour. Where has someone like you with a large mana pool been hiding all this time?"
I came out of my head and smiled at the Captain that appeared besides me
"I was honing my skills privately until I was confident enough to take on these beasts."
"Haha, honing your skills until you reach such a high rank? You're too cautious! If you had trained with other mercenaries, that flame skill of yours might have already reached S rank!"
He paused as he looked me up and down before continuing
"Come back with a few of my people so you can get to know the mercenaries you'll be working with from now on, we can't let a talent like you go to waste."
"Haha, sure."
I listened to the large man's words and agreed to go along. I had to become known in this Frozen Kingdom little by little. I wouldn't start off with an explosive show of power that would raise heads, but become known slowly as my power increased in the shadows.
Chapter 74 - A chance encounter
We flew away from the floating Nest on the Whitewing beasts, passing through the cold winds that now also had the addition of heavy snow as dark clouds hung overhead. My sight was locked onto this Skypeak Nest that I would most definitely visit for myself in the future
I was lost in my thoughts as we passed through the falling snow and became entranced with the scene playing out. The land floating in the sky receded from view as we approached the outline of the Frozen Kingdom. The minutes passed by in the skies as I introduced myself to the mercenaries I worked with today
We passed over the huge fortress wall and landed in the back of the [Mercenary's Hideout] in a few minutes, where 5000 gold was given to every participating mercenary as a surprised receptionist came out and saw us returning much earlier than expected
I was looking forward to learning the rank A skill books now sitting in one of my storage rings as I followed Captain Ryner's group. It was him and four other S rank hunters. After the extermination task was confirmed and the rewards handed out, we went further into the kingdom past the entrance town
The buildings became larger and grander the further in we went, and the beginning of one of the grandiose bridges that sn.a.k.e.d towards the sky to one of the floating lands above us appeared.
The bridge was wide and long, with rank two S guards decked in an exquisite white metal armor standing guard. Anyone that wanted to pass the checkpoint had to have proper authorization, or they would face the cold blades of the two guards if they tried anything funny
The boisterous attitude of Captain Ryner came to a stop as we neared the bridge and saw an escort taking place. An exquisite carriage waited besides the bridge a veiled woman that became surrounded by peak rank S guards got off and was walked towards the bridge
Captain Ryner's entire demeanor changed as his voice lowered before he respectfully called out to the figures in front of us in a tone I was hearing for the first time today
"Princess, it's my extreme pleasure being graced with your sight today"
His voice was low but clear, ringing out clearly in the ears of the figures up front. The guards standing besides the veiled woman showed annoyed expression as they turned to look at Ryner, seemingly this not being the first time they've come across something like this
The veiled woman turned to this direction and nodded towards Ryner, which made him breakout the largest smile as if he had won the lottery. I looked at this scene in fascination as it seemed this captain was completely stricken with the woman up front, but could only look from afar
The figures turned and began climbing towards the bridge, but not before I felt a gaze linger on me for a few seconds. I turned to the escort of people that were leaving and wondered if I had just thought wrong
Ryner moved with much more vigor after this as we entered into a much more expensive looking tavern than the ones I've seen on the way here. The tavern was much more high class, with private rooms that gave it an air of calmness
There were no boisterous noises from mercenaries
as it seemed a noise canceling function was activated the moment the doors to the private rooms closed. We soon grabbed a private room of our own and sat on a thick soft furred carpet around a circular table
Ryner was animatedly moving around as the best dishes were ordered and the mercenaries began talking
"Hey hey hey, Captain Ryner seems to be completely taken in by the terrifying Ice Princess eh?"
"Bah, what do you know? I heard her highness's main guard would be retiring soon, and I just signed up for the possibility of being chosen when the selection happens"
Ryner had began biting down on the huge chunks of meat as he talked back to the jeering mercenary
"Oh, you actually think you stand a chance from all those geniuses that are fighting for the position?"
The burly captain gave a hard look to the voice that spoke as he snorted and replied
"My power is peak rank S, if I don't stand a chance, nobody does!"
The mercenaries continued their back and forth as I listened in and enjoyed the food. The Ice Princess was apparently one of the royalties residing and controlling the Snowy Peak that was floating not too far from us.
The subject of the people currently in power who controlled the forces of the Frozen Kingdom made me think about my own plans to increase my influence in the future. The easiest path was to rise to Epic rank or higher, obtaining a level of strength that would allow me to carry out many plans. But how do I go about it without causing bloodshed and strife on these people that were not the enemies I came here for?
Rising through the ranks in times of war would be the best possible outcome, but the Frozen Kingdom was surrounded by mountains and had tight defenses. The forces of demons that were spreading out might target this kingdom soon, but I didn't know when. For now, I would prepare as much as I could before events explode
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There were many titles under my name.
Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705 Page 33