Hello everyone one! I believe many of you have already seen our new cover ^_^ It is a picture of Sigrid and I'm very happy with the result =D I know some people imagine her to be older but I picture her with innocence as a key trait. My artistic skill is shit so the artist did a lot of work making this come to life with just my simple description

Cover was done by Catastrophic_Finale

Please check out his forum thread and his deviant art Here

Alice quickly went over what happened from when they met John to signing up being an adventurer to finding out about the basic training and the fight at the end of basic training.

“So she was forced to use her ice ability this early already?” Sage couldn’t help but frown, however Alice wasn’t able to see anything as Sage’s body showed no expression. “Was there any trouble due to this?’

Alice only helplessly shook her head “Not that we know of. We headed back almost directly after the mock battle was over, so we avoided a lot of people.”

“Hmmm… be extra careful for now and if anything goes wrong return to the dungeon immediately. Once you guys are in the dungeon then everything becomes a lot easier.” Sage’s voice was heavy at the end as he was still very worried.

“Understood Sage. Luckily we didn’t come out of that with a total loss. Sigrid was granted rank E by the Vice Guild Master so she can already considered a high ranked adventurer for this dungeon.” Alice paused for a bit as her brow slightly furrowed, “This is also the reason why she ended up being invited to dinner by the local Adventurers Guild’s guild master.”

Sage seemed to have picked up on Alice’s slight change in facial expression and quickly asked “Was there any problem with the guild master?”

“Not exactly.” Alice slowly shook her head. “He is just a very powerful individual and being tested by him was very stressful. Luckily Sigrid didn’t seem to notice the probing questions but I have a feeling he is suspicious of our origin. However he doesn’t seem to care as long as we don’t intent to cause the people any harm.”

Sage pondered for a long time before he finally let out a sigh “I should have known this would not be this easy. Be very careful Alice and pull back if anything goes wrong. I rather you two blow your cover if it means returning safely back here.”

Alice felt touched by Sage’s words and went up and hugged him to comfort him. Although Sage couldn’t really feel anything the gesture still secretly calmed him down. After a while Alice let go and asked “So Sage how have you been the past week?”

“It hasn’t been that eventful since you two left but I did manage to create something nice, have a look.” Sage moved one of the gourds filled with Mana Ale over towards Alice. Alice seemed very confused by this but opened up the gourd. When the mana and smell came out from the gourd her eyes lit up and she quickly took a sip.

“Mana infused alcohol! And such large amount of mana too, this would make great mana recovery medication. The only down side is the mana intoxication people with small mana pool would feel.” Alice eyes were sparkling as she stared at the gourd. “You never cease to amaze me Sage!” With that she took another gulp.

Sage was happy that Alice liked it so much but soon he was kinda shocked as she drank the entire gourd. “Alice are you ok? I know you like it but that was a lot of Mana Ale and even the Kobold Lord can only handle two gourd.”

“Don’t worry about it Sage, just a little mana like this won’t affect me.” Alice licked her lips as she finished the gourd and tossed it aside. She looked perfectly normal as if she just drank some water. Sensing doubt from Sage she let out a laugh “Sage we fairies are creatures that are very well adapted to storing a large amount of mana. We can hold a much larger supply of mana than other creatures of similar strength. If Sigrid was here she would be able to drink 10 gourd of this Mana Ale before she would be intoxicated by it.”

Sage couldn’t help but silently weep, it seemed that his plan of using this Mana Ale to speed up Sigrid’s training wasn’t going to be easy. At first he thought just 1 gourd would be enough but now he realized he needed 10 just at this level, he didn’t even want to think about how much resources he would need later on. He couldn’t help but sigh and mutter “Even geniuses take a mountain of treasure to help them mature…”

*Dungeon Town, Adventurers Guild*

The guild master stood next to the window in his room looking outside. Today he met a brand new adventurer that just registered but was approved by Shannon to be rank E. Shannon even used the thunder hawk to get the message to him before she arrived. He was surprised that even Shannon was taking an interest in this Sigrid so he was looking forward to meeting her. She arrived at the dungeon town early in the evening and dropped by the Adventurers’ Guild. Naturally she was immediately invited to a dinner with the guild master as he had been waiting for her.

However what shocked the guild master the most, wasn’t Sigrid’s look or talent but the little red fairy sitting on her shoulder. He immediately recognized it as the fairy that he caught spying on the dungeon town when Team STAR came for the dungeon evaluation. According to Sigrid, this fairy had been with her for a long time but if this fairy was here over a month ago where had Sigrid been back then? This caused him to have a lot of questions and he tried his best to get the answer out of Sigrid. In the end the only thing he managed to get out of Sigrid was that she ran away from home but she wasn’t willing to share more.

Since the guild master really admired talented youths he decided to let it go. However he did give her a warning that, although he didn’t mind where she came from, if she caused any trouble for the adventurers here he would have to act. She didn’t seem intimidated by his words at all which caused him to become even more interested in her. This entire time he had been secretly pressuring her with his mana to try to crack the mask she put on but she was able to easily withstand it all. This type of mentality isn’t something a mere rank E could have, only people in Team STAR had this kind of mental fortitude.

The guild master couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he drank a gulp from a gourd “This place is getting even more messy. I am wondering how much longer this peace will last….”

*A Room in the Dungeon Town’s Adventurer’s Guild*

Sigrid laid on the bed in the dark room with her eyes wide open. Both she and Alice were shocked when they were invited to dinner by the guild master the moment they arrived. They agreed, seeing no harm in it, but the moment they meet the guild master she regretted agreeing. This man was scary, far scarier than anything she has faced so far beside her own mother. The entire time he was pressuring her with his mana to try to get information out of her. The only reason she managed to hold out, was by forcing herself to repeat the Ice Flow Cultivation Method to calm her heart.

This ended up working surprisingly well as she quickly repeated the cultivation in her head and the mana in her body began to move in a certain way through her body. The pressure from the guild master’s mana immediately lessened and she was able to maintain her mask. In the end she fed him the half truth of her running away from home but just as she thought it was over he suddenly became very serious. She could feel the air freeze solid around her, makingcausing her unable to move as he gave a warning about not causing any trouble around. By the time she regained her senses she was already being led to her room by the receptionist Penny. Only when she entered her room did the cold sweat cover her body as she recalled the warning.

Alice was completely silent the whole time as if she wanted to avoid the guild master at all cost. She finally spoke once they were alone again “I need to go back to the dungeon and tell Sage what happened. You can’t come with me right now, not with that old monster around. Stay here and I’ll be back once I explain everything. Then tomorrow we can find a reason to go explore the woods and go meet Sage.”

Sigrid really wanted to go back to meet Sage as well but after hearing Alice’s words she silently nodded and obediently stayed behind. She couldn’t sleep as she was waiting for Alice to return with news from Sage. In the dark she couldn’t help but think of what happened during dinner and began to repeat the Ice Flower Cultivation Method in her head. The mana once again cycled through her body allowing her to reach a state of extreme calmness. She quickly set up into a lotus position and continued to experience this mysterious feeling.

She could clearly feel the mana in her body moving like it had never done before and with each time the mana cycled through her body some of it would enter her muscle and bone making them stronger. Soon she was completely lost in this feeling and didn’t even notice Alice silently sneaking through the window.

Alice was about to greet Sigrid but she suddenly noticed something off about Sigrid and decided to not bother Sigrid. After waiting for a long time and seeing that there wasn’t any change, Alice gave up waiting and went to sleep. Sigrid continued in this mysterious state as the mana nourished her body. Soon the sun rose and Sigrid slowly opened her eyes. Even though she hadn’t slept for a wink last night, she felt well rested and refreshed. Suddenly she realized it was morning and panicked as she looked around. However after seeing Alice sleeping on a pillow provided by the guild she let out a breath.

She moved her body and felt the change that had occurred that night. Her body had changed but she wasn’t sure how because her injury hadn’t recovered more than normal and the amount of mana she had in her body remained the same yet she knew something changed. In the end she gave up and decided to ask Sage about it later.

She got up and walked next to Alice to wake her up. Alice begrudgingly got up after much effort from Sigrid. After she fully awakened, Alice told Sigrid what Sage said and they made plans to go back to meet Sage today. Both quickly got ready and left the room. They reached the receptionist desk and registered for an entry slot to enter the dungeon for tomorrow. After that they asked for Penny to recommend them an inn to stay at. Penny offered them to stay here long term but they declined. It would be far too troublesome to be around that old monster all the time. Finally Penny gave up and gave them a letter of recommendation and pointed them to the Treasure Inn.

They quickly reached the Treasure Inn and rented a room for a week. After that Sigrid put on a blue cloak to cover her appearance and they snuck into the woods. Once they were sure that there was no one following them they headed toward the secret entrance into the dungeon.

*Sage’s Chamber*

After Alice left, Sage thought about the guild master for a bit. From Alice’s description this person was very powerful and could probably easily crush him right now. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly, even though he had made a lot of progress he was still very weak. He spent the night finishing up the 3rd floor and decided to allow Sigrid to be the one to “discover” it first allowing her to move up the adventurer’s rank faster.

Time quickly passed and it was getting close to noon when two figures appeared near the secret entrance. Sage’s attention immediately focused there as he saw Sigrid and Alice enter the secret tunnel and walked toward his chamber. Soon they arrived and only then did Sage finally feel all the weight on his heart lifted. This feeling kinda surprised him and left him speechless.

“Greeting master, I’m sorry for the late return.” Sigrid took off her cloak and bowed toward Sage.

“No worries, I’m just glad you are o… “ Suddenly Sage paused as he focused on Sigrid and after awhile he laughed “Sigrid it seems you managed to have a breakthrough during your time away!”

Sigrid was startled and quickly responded “What do you mean master?”

“Do you not feel it yourself? Do you not feel like your body has changed but no matter what you don’t know why?” Sage’s voice contained a hint of tenderness.

“Yes I do.” Sigrid quickly explained what happened the night before. “After spending the night like that I felt the change to my body but my injury hasn’t healed, my body isn’t stronger, and my mana hasn’t increased at all. What exactly is this feeling master?”

“You have begun to lay the foundation for the future Sigrid. This is a very important step for the future so you mustn’t rush this. Slowly absorb and cycle the mana through your body to nourish it and once your body has reached its limit you will be ready to move on to the next stage of your training.” Sage’s voice slowly became very serious. “Remember to not rush this process and let it naturally happen or else you may destroy your own future.”

Sigrid quickly nodded, “Yes master!”

Alice seemed to find the right time and added “So Sage what is the plan?”

Sage’s voice returned back to normal, “I’m almost done with the 3rd floor so I was thinking about opening it up tomorrow and allowing you two to be the first to discover it?”

“Good idea Sage, the Adventurers’ Guild seems to value new information a lot, so this should speed up Sigrid’s climb up the ranks.” Alice was very happy at how much Sage had grown to even consider this.

They quickly came up with a plan and then the rest of the day Sage focused his attention on teaching Sigrid…

*Dungeon Town, Treasure inn*

“Sir, all 12 “volunteers” have successfully entered the dungeon town without being detected.”

“Good, now split them up into 4 groups of 3 and have them form parties. Have them spend the next month forming a good relationship with their party members. Send message to the forces to the south that the operation will start 1 month from now.”

“Yes sir! Also we have tracked that girl Sigrid here as well. She had dinner with the guild master last night and now is staying at this inn as well. She has also signed up to enter the dungeon tomorrow.”

“Ah good, I’ll personally deal with her. She will be a key pawn in our plan.”

*Forest Outside Dungeon Town*

A lone figure walked through the forest heading toward the dungeon town. “I can’t believe she is rank E already.” The figure sighed, “She could have at least waited for me before rushing to the dungeon town. I finished my promotion exam only a few hour after the mock battles were over. I still can’t believe that old man lied to me and sent me into such a place! But still at least now I’m the same rank as her...”

Edited by: Nova