Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 118 - Search Plan

Previously:

Kiel subtly extracts information from Arion about Zor Arite, finding out that he died a heroic death 18 years ago which had a great impact on the Arite family, especially Rine Arite who was close to Zor. Elaru admits that her artifact is called the Seed of Aegis and that its original creator was Zor Arite, however, she refuses to reveal how her father got his hands on the artifact. Elaru visits the Replica Dungeon, where she has an interesting encounter with Mageheart before the start of Elaru's practical exam. Upon entering the world of her exam, Elaru is faced with a peacekeeper who introduces the goal of the exam – finding and apprehending several bandits.

* * *

The man paused his speech, and his stern look lessened a bit. "Any questions?"

Elaru didn't hesitate at all, immediately firing a respectful barrage of questions: "How many bandits are there?"

"A group of 4. However, it is possible that they had comrades waiting for them in the forest so there might be more of them."

"Their races?"

"Two argel, two elibu."

"Who is the hostage?"

As Elaru asked this peculiar question, the stern man in front of her suddenly looked...awkward?

Finally, he coughed and replied in a sour tone: "Mr. Whiskers..."

Elaru's barrage of questions suddenly died in her throat, her business expression replaced by an incredulous look.

Several seconds of silence had passed before she continued, this time in an equally awkward tone: "What does he look like?"

The man steeled his expression as he replied. "Thin, one-meter long body, brown striped fur..."

However, even though he tried his best to be completely professional in his demeanor, his voice, that cracked and faded out, gave him away.

This time, the speechless silence lasted for five seconds straight.

Elaru knew that there was no robbery – this robbery was just a made-up scenario. Examiners probably created a randomized terrain and hired several Quest Seekers to play the role of bandits.

But even though Elaru knew this wasn't real, her mind couldn't help but imagine a band of idiots rummaging through a house of a rich old lady. Somewhere in the middle of their heist, one of the morons would come up with an idea to kidnap the old lady's pet and ask for ransom. Or perhaps, they would decide to take Mr. Whiskers as a hostage to ensure that they would be able to escape from the Peacekeepers pursuing them.

Either way, no matter how she tried picturing four badass bandits, the whole situation kept turning comical inside her head.

It took Elaru considerable effort to prevent a fit of giggles threatening to erupt from her throat.

"A pet lunar?" Elaru's voice jumped an octave and cracked at the end of her guess.

"No, a shéfur..." The man grunted.

Elaru stepped back involuntarily with wide eyes, nearly blurting out: "But shéfurs don't have whiskers...!"

However, seeing the constipated yet steely expression of the man, she figured that it would be better to just change the subject.

"Do you have the map of the valley? Any clues on which area the perpetrators might be in?"

Relieved that the discussion was moving away from the awkward topic, the man's expression eased up briefly before resuming his strict businesslike demeanor once again.