Here you go, one more chapter. Its proofread now

Thanks for reading.

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Clan Quest : Feed the Guardian

Follow Chrono on his quest to feed the Guardian of Kramoris mountain range, Oroviath.

Condition : Let Chrono feed Oroviath successfully

Reward : Position of captain of small raid party.

Rejection : Upon Rejection, will automatically get kick out of the clan.

"So, why should I team up with you?"

"If you didn't you will be kick out of the clan"

"Why me?"

"I don't like you but I need your skill."

"Pfft!!"

Quest accepted

********

After Chrono successfully recruiting(?) Aramis, he went to his blacksmith workshop to make one last preparation. It's easy to bring the banquet and all the traveling equipment with his 'Ancient Merchant Secret' skill but he wanted to hide the skill even from the clan members. That's why Chrono decided he would make a wagon.

Chrono focused on sturdiness and efficiency when he build the wagon. Chrono used his gem cutting to cut several gems infused with freezing magic into smaller pieces. Then he made a small room at the back of the wagon and REPLACEed the gems in the room to make a freezer room to store food.

At the right side of the wagon, he attached fire gems to make a small blacksmith workshop. At the left side, Chrono attached lesser fire gems and made a small kitchen. Both the blacksmith workshop and kitchen can be opened from the outside.

For the middle room, Chrono used it for his gem creation and in the front of the wagon, Chrono stored the traveling equipment such as a tent and potions.

You make high class merchant wagon.

Blacksmithing skill increase

"(Done, now I need to get a pet to pull the wagon.)"

Chrono went to see the clan monster tamer to ask for pet that can pull the wagon. The monster tamer, Francis brought Chrono to his barn to show his pet products.

"Most of the pets I raise are fast and strong for more efficient raids, the most popular is the steed because they are fast. Monster type users such as our members are bigger, so they ride on great bulls. No one in the clan has asked me for wagon pet before, I guess you should make your own judgement."

There were all kinds of pets in the barn. Pets used for riding, pets used for fighting and pets used for doing tasks such as delivering messages and carrying goods for users. Chrono walked around the barn to look for a suitable pet.

"(Hmm.....should I get a steed or a great bull? But pulling a heavy wagon while traveling the mountain path is a hard task even to them.)"

While Chrono wandering around, he saw a bunch of 'Silver Hair' wolves. It’s the mini boss monster he used to fight when he was at the 'Forest of the Beast'.

"(One may not enough, but 4 of these guys can pull the wagon easily. Hmm...)"

While Chrono was pondering, he saw a cage that only had one pet in it. The size of the pet was a bit bigger than a great bull but it was clearly far stronger and smarter.

"How about that one?"

"That's a baby drake, it’s pretty prideful and may betray you once it gets powerful enough. It's fine to use it, just don't let it accumulate experience by killing other monsters. If the drake gains enough experience and starts to evolve, you will get in trouble."

"So it is fine as long as I don't let it kill monsters and accumulate experience?"

"Yes, right now its tamed and I'm sure it will obey your orders as its master."

"Okay, I will take the baby drake."

Francis took out the baby drake from its cage and prepared the pact ceremony to appoint Chrono as its new master.

You gained a pet. Non tamer class user can gained up to 5 pet. The baby drake would take 1 pet slot, leaving you with another 4 pet slot.

Would you like to name the baby drake?

"Yes"

State the baby drake name.

"Thorin"

Would you like to named the baby drake Thorin?

"Yes"

The baby drake name is Thorin

With the help of the clan member, Chrono brought the wagon outside of the hideout. Once the wagon was outside, Chrono attached it to Thorin. Since Francis was a high level tamer, the pact ceremony he performed was a high level one making Thorin obey every command from its new master even though Chrono’s level was a lot lower than its own.

Once Chrono finished attaching Thorin to the wagon, he loaded the wagon with the traveling equipment and the guardian’s banquet. Chrono told Aramis to get ready as he did his final check on the quest’s preparations. Chrono especially prepared a lot of potions since he couldn’t restore his health from 'Soul Eater' like he used to.

After he finished, Chrono waited for Aramis at the hideout’s entrance while chatting with the fellow clan member.

"I praise your eye for acknowledging Aramis’s skill. But I feel you chose a wrong person."

"Why? I don't really care about our bad relationship, I just feel he will be useful to me for this quest."

"Hahaha!! I have no doubt about his skill, but you should have asked us first about his attitude."

"Attitude? I know he’s a bit arrogant."

"That's just the tip of the iceberg, he also stubborn and a bit...feminine."

"Feminine?"

"He is only good with the female clan members, we actually find it a little annoying."

"(So he's a pervert?)"

When the conversation got heated the other clan members also joined in. For adult males from a bandit clan, they unexpectedly love to gossip.

"Once, in a raid party, I saw his meal. He actually loves candy! A manly musketeer with a moustache on his face loves candy!!"

"A friend of a friend of mine once saw him trying to enter the women’s bathroom!!"

"Once, a friend of my friend’s acquaintance told me that he saw the man in question actually....touch Sitka’s chest and say "It got bigger."

"(What? Why does the hideout have a women’s bathroom, or even a normal bathroom? Aren't we inside a game? And why did he touch Sitka’s chest and measure it? Isn't the size fixed and only a made up thing when making a new character?)"

The gossip went on and got more ridiculous, of course Chrono didn't believe any of that. He thought they just didn't like Aramis and made up all the rumours.

"(Besides, I don't think someone that prideful and honourable like him is actually perverted. He even has a musketeer-like moustache and named himself Aramis, one of the three musketeers.)"

The group finally got deadly quiet when Aramis finally showed up from the hideout entrance.

"I'm ready"

"Okay, let's form a party first."

Once all the preparations were complete, Chrono and Aramis formed a party and Chrono became the leader. They departed as soon as the party was formed.

************

During their journey, Chrono and Aramis agreed that they would avoid as many monster lairs as possible but they decided to just go through a few monster lairs to save time. Thanks to Thorin’s extraordinary strength, the wagon was faster than expected despite its heavy load. Once they entered the rocky path of the mountain range, they encountered their first monster lair that they needed to go through. It was a giant spider monster lair ranging from level 70 to 80.

"There are a lot, I will try to clear it first. But I will run if I feel I can't handle it, you and your wagon need to camp further so I can run peacefully."

"Okay, I will camp the wagon at a safe distance and defend it."

Both Aramis and Chrono felt that the banquet in the wagon needed to be absolutely safe as it was essential for the quest’s success. Aramis wanted Chrono to stay at a safe distance and protect the wagon while he was fighting the monsters. But the actual reason was that Aramis didn't want Chrono to leech the experience while he was clearing the monster lair.

Chrono just accepted Aramis’s suggestion since he didn't want to be a burden to Aramis and fail the quest. The monsters here are a lot more powerful than the monsters in the 'Forest of the Beast', Chrono had never hunted here before and he was not really confident in his monster slaying ability after he lost Grave.

When Chrono got far enough, Aramis engaged the monsters in the monster lair. He made sure to not draw too many monsters, instead he took down the monsters one by one. Since Kramoris mountain range was guarded by Orviath, no one hunted here. Since no one hunts here and slays the monsters, the monster lairs have a lot of monsters in it. Currently, there are more than 2000 monsters in the spider lair.

Whenever Aramis almost died or when he drew too much attention, he ran away, back to the wagon to heal. Chrono felt this way took a lot more time than taking a detour and avoiding the monster lair completely. Every time Aramis came back from the lair, he had only slain 20 monsters at most and he spent around an hour each time. With this speed, they could only clear the monster lair after 100 hours!! That is more than 4 days which is too time consuming.

But Chrono needed to defend the wagon in case it got attacked by wild monsters that wander around. Finally, Chrono decided he should do something to solve the problem.

"(I will start by crafting a new rapier for Aramis.)"

Since the last time he crafted for the clan’s newly recruited users, he knew almost all the newly recruited members’ measurements. But some of them such as Aramis didn't give Chrono their measurements, since they felt their equipment was good enough for them probably because it was already tuned by a higher leveled blacksmith and they tried to hide their weapon capabilities.

"Aramis, tell me your body measurement."

"What? Why?" Aramis face turned red at Chrono’ sudden request.

"(Now I understand the feminine part, his face turned red as if he got shy while he actually gets angry because his pride doesn't let me help him.)"

"I understand, but our situation is grave. I need your measurements to craft a rapier for you."

"But I have a great rapier already." Aramis looked at Chrono with suspicion.

"Yes, but I can make a rapier that can slay this type of monster faster. I already know your fighting style, just tell me your measurements."

"Hmm...."

"Do you want to complete the quest or not? Our current speed is no good."

"Okay."

Chrono made a rapier based on Aramis. The rapier wasn't as good as Aramis’s current rapier, but Chrono used his 'Gem Cutting' skill to cut a gem infused with fire magic into smaller pieces then he embedded it into the rapier.

"(The gem shall be small, just enough for it to have a flame’s heat on its blade. And the sword hilt shall be embedded with gem infused with water magic)"

If Chrono used a bigger fire infused gem, the sword will get too hot for Aramis to use in a fight. And Chrono embedded a smaller water infused gem in the sword’s hilt so the water properties would not overpower the fire properties. Normally, it was hard to get an elemental gem, but thanks to his clan, Chrono could get his hand on the gem easily.

Fire Rapier

A rapier made by ordinary blacksmith infused with fire properties on its blade. Inflicted extra fire damage.

Damage : 30 Durability : 30

Special : Inflicted fire damage

Once he finished it, Chrono handed the rapier to Aramis and asked him to try it. When Aramis tried using the rapier Chrono gave him instead of his current one, he managed to slay 40 monsters before he had to go back to the wagon to recover.

"(Like I thought, the spider monster’s weakness is fire. But the clearing speed still isn't fast enough.)"

When Aramis went back to the monster lair, Chrono planned on making a spear to help Aramis speed up the monster lair clearing. He smelted the best material known for its heat resistance and forged a heavy spear. Then he cut a medium sized fire gem to embed it in the spear. The result, unlike the fire rapier he just made, the spear was overheated by the fire magic and was always burning in a fire making it hard to touch for a normal user.

Scorching Heavy Spear

A heavy spear made by ordinary blacksmith infused with fire properties making its body always in a scorching fire.

Damage : 30 Durability : 30

Special : Armor penetration, fire damage and blaze damage

"(......I can't touch it.)"

To touched the spear, Chrono embedded his gauntlet with middle size water gem. Now, Chrono can hold the spear for a brief moment since holding it for too long will make his body caught the heat. But that brief moment was enough for Chrono to throw the spear.

Water Gauntlet

A gauntlet imbued with water properties.

Defense : 20 (on hit) Durability : 30

Special : the gauntlet null fire damage.

Equipment with water properties didn't offer fire protection for the whole body like a necklace or ring. Instead, it only nullifies the fire effect around the gauntlet.

"(Now, for my next experiment.)"

Chrono had thought about it for a while now, he just didn't have time to test it. Since Chrono had lost Grave, he had been trying to find another way to fight without it. Chrono felt he couldn’t just rely on his "Throw Spear' skill to fight since it was a single target skill. His 'Battle Hardened Sword Mastery' is a close combat skill that is quite dangerous if he gets surrounded.

That's when Chrono thought about the 'Portal' from 'Ancient Merchant Secret' skill that can summon Ragnarok and deal quite a lot of damage. Chrono thought Vanijah, the merchant who build the secret warehouse, used it to summon thousands of workers and tons of material to build the warehouse. Which meant, Chrono can actually cast multiple 'Portals' as long as his mana permits it.

I currently have 280 mana, to cast a 'portal' I need 20 mana which means I can currently cast 14 portals. Chrono hadn't tried it in the hideout since he was trying to hide the skill, since Aramis was at the monster lair, Chrono could test the skill while nobody was watching him. Chrono cast 14 portals placed 30 meters above the ground.

"Rain of Blades!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

A spear or sword dropped from each portal and hit the ground. The damage wasn't tremendous but it was good enough for Chrono since it was his only area of effect skill.

"(Maybe if I raise the skill the mana requirement will get lower and I can summon more portals also I should practice to place the portals at the most damaging location.)"

***************

"Now you got back faster, how many did you manage to slay this time?"

"Only 10."

Aramis felt ashamed with his current achievement but to Chrono, it was normal since he was getting deeper into the lair and closer to the mini boss, 'Spider Queen'. The spider monsters would surround Aramis in large numbers as soon as he got closer to the 'Spider Queen'. With a large amount of monsters surrounding Aramis every time he got deeper into the lair, he only managed to slay 8-10 monster before his health got into critical condition and he ran away back to the wagon.

"It's time for me to help you."

"No, I can handle it alone."

"I'm sure you can, but together we can clear the lair faster."

"No you will just be a burden."

"(What a stubborn person.....)"

Aramis went back to the lair alone after he recovered.

"(I will do whatever you tell me? No way.)"

After 30 minutes, Chrono rode the wagon to the monster lair. He needed to be sure Aramis was fighting the horde of monsters before he went in because Aramis can’t chase him away when he’s busy fighting monsters. Thorin’s speed while pulling the wagon was amazing, Chrono arrived at the deeper level of the lair in no time.

When he arrived, Aramis was already surrounded by 10 spider monsters. Aramis’s fighting skill was amazing but 10 monsters at once was still too much for him. Once he arrived at the scene, Chrono threw the 'Scorching Heavy Spear' without a word.

Wooshh!!

You hit the target.

The target knock back by 20 metered.

You inflicted blaze on the target, it will received 100 fire damage per second

The heavy spear went through the giant spider’s body while lighting its body on fire, depleting its health rapidly. Chrono threw a few more heavy spears to assist Aramis. The other spears weren't imbued with fire magic but its heavy property would slow the giant spiders’ movement by 30% which is enough for Aramis to slaughter the monsters surrounding him.

After Aramis cleared all the monster surrounding him, he walked towards Chrono angrily.

"I told you I could handle this! You should get back, NOW!"

"But we need to clear the lair faster, if we take more than 6 days, it's better to just take a detour and go around the lair."

"Don't worry, I can handle this by tonight."

"Your previous performance tells me otherwise."

Losing his temper, Aramis pointed his rapier at Chrono.

"Just go away, I can handle this by tonight."

"Or you can kill me and fail the quest?"

"...................."

Chrono was right, if he killed Chrono the quest would fail and he might get kicked out of the clan. It was easy to join a normal clan, but a clan full of chaotic users is rare since this kind of clan usually moves in the shadows. Realizing the situation, Aramis walked away from Chrono while heading to the deeper level of the monster lair.

"Just don't be a burden."

"I won't."

Chrono retrieved all his spears before moving on, he tried to keep a safe distance between him and Aramis because he needed to assist Aramis while protecting the wagon. But not even 10 feet from their previous encounter, they encountered a horde of 20 more spider monsters.

Like their previous fight, Aramis was in the front while Chrono assisted him with his spears. Like the previous fight, they cleared the monsters easily thanks to Chrono’s assistance. This time Aramis healed himself with Chrono’s potion while Chrono retrieved his spears before they moved on.

"I think it's enough now, you can go back."

"Let’s just do this together."

".............Please go back."

"(Weird...he is strangely persistent. Ah! I see now what he is trying to do.)"

"Aramis, are you trying to hide your ability?

"..............."

"Judging from the situation, the ability is only usable during night-time since you were so confident earlier saying you can clear the monsters tonight."

"...........Now you know, please go back. I hate it when anyone knows my secret."

"Nah, let's just share our secrets."

"Hmm?"

"Rain of Blades!!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

"I have a skill that enables me to cast portal that can summon and unsummon things. It's directly linked to my secret warehouse."

"..........Why do you reveal your secret so easily?"

"We need to trust each other, at least for now. I can prepare a contract if you don't trust me."

Without saying a word, Aramis continued to walk until they found another horde of monsters. It was night-time, now Aramis secret was revealed. His dim red eyes became blood red and his teeth grew into fangs.

"Chrono, my race is not a human...."

Aramis charged to the monster horde slaying them with amazing speed. The power behind each of his attacks was increased tremendously and his stamina didn't seem to decrease. Chrono watched in awe as he had never seen any user fight like him before. The only race that looked like human while having an amazing fighting attribute is the vampire race.

But the vampire race is weak during day time to the point that they can't fight more than one monster at a time. Chrono had seen users with the vampire race before, there are plenty of them in BloodBrothers but no one anywhere near Aramis’s current fighting ability. Aramis cleared the monster horde without breaking a sweat compared to before night-time.

"Now you have seen my secret, form a contract now."

"Okay, but what is your actual race? You should tell me so I can make better potions for you."

"I am a pure blood vampire."

"What?"

Unlike any other vampire race, pure blood vampires are a lot stronger. But in return, the sunlight will kill them almost instantly. But it was a known fact that a pure blood vampire user can get rid of this weakness with two condition. The first condition was to slay 1000 users at the same level or higher but the problem was the second condition which was to restart from level 1 again.

The pure blood vampire gets an 80% stat bonus during night-time which is quite powerful but the difficulties to overcome its weakness made it unpopular among users. It was extremely difficult to hide from the sunlight in the middle of adventuring and respawning in the middle of the day would also be instant death. The pure blood vampire also received permanent chaotic status making them unable to enter normal towns.

"(If he can bath in sunlight, it's means he has already overcome his weakness and he used to be a higher level user. I should put some human blood into his potions after this.)"

After Aramis and Chrono finished their contract which was to hide each other’s secrets, they continued on their current quest, moving deeper into the monster lair.

In the distance there were 5 figures watching them from a distance.

"Hmmm...so both of them have a great secret."

"Yes, it seems so, leader."

"Were you aware of this Sitka?"

"I knew Aramis’s secret but I didn't know about Chrono."

Instead of leading the raid party, Jurek, Sitka and 3 other high ranking clan members of BloodBrothers were tailing Chrono and Aramis......

*************