Arnold followed after Elora.
She said something about a newbie program, which his guild also had back in the day for recruits. Actually, it was linked to their mentorship program.
It's a great way to see who can follow orders, is competent enough in a fight of both brawn and brains, and how they react to danger. You don't want a coward as your party member but it's also important to know if you should flee if the opponent is too much to handle. Arrogant imbeciles are just as hated by guild leaders as cowards. But fleeing when necessary makes you a hero since you save your teammates' lives that way.
"—You're still in your nightwear? I thought you never rest." Lucia's voice reached Arnold's ears.
"I thought I should take Miss Josephine's advice and take it easy today. But there will be a meeting tonight so I can't chat long since I have to get ready."
"Hm? What kind of meeting?"
"—We're preparing a joint party for a big quest." Arnold leaned against the doorframe when he came to the reception area.
"Oh my, my. I haven't seen that handsome face in months." Lucia smiled coyly as she looked him up and down.
Next to her was a boy and a girl who looked a few years younger than Arnold (his real age). They turned stiff when they saw him.
Lucia approached him and curiously measured her height compared to him. Shameless as ever, her exposed top could barely contain her breasts, "Geez, did you eat a magic beast to grow this tall in just a few months?"
"We barely interacted when I joined your party but you were able to pick up on how tall I was?"
"If the man is handsome enough, his mortal form is ingrained in my mind for all eternity. Every. Inch. Of. His. Body." She spoke with a deep voice before chuckling, "Hmm, not just taller but more muscular. Did you go on some crazy training regime in the mountains?" she trailed her finger on his arm.
"A-Actually, he was in the Dragon God's Lair, recovering equipping that we can use!" Elora appeared and stood between the two as if pulling them apart.
"EH!? But even SS-rankers avoid the first floor!" Lucia was understandably in disbelief.
"Then how about I show you?" Elora tapped the ring on her finger. In the next moment a staff appeared, the same staff Arnold gave her earlier.
"G-Golden enchanted runes on black bark!? It can't be!" Lucia took the staff with trembling hands.
"Yup, it belongs to Archmage Peulik's apprentice!"
'Huh, I forgot that guy had apprentices. If only that kid didn't let his power get to his head, he could've become the Archmage instead of dying in that dungeon.'
On top of being the Archmage's only apprentice, he was also a skilled runic craftsman. The staff was created by Peulik but he enchanted the staff to make it even better. It's not good enough to be classified as a Semi-Star yet but it's still one of the best "starter" staffs for level 70 or so magicians. It's trash to Lufulur, though.
"D-Did you find the Altering Ring of Lilith!?" Lucia grabbed Arnold by the shirt and looked at him pleadingly.
"Uhh, that ring that can make you alter your body at will?"
"Yes, that! Do you realize how many women will kill to have that!? Imagine looking 20 years younger even at 40! Or imagine making your boobs bigger! That ring does that! I need to know!"
'Is that trash item that popular with people? It sells for chump change on the Star Shop.'
It's not a transmogrification artifact that allows you to shapeshift but you can change your body type, skin color and texture, and your hair. Since it can't allow shapeshifting, it's pretty useless to players, which is why it's considered a trash item that people would rather sell in the community shop or to NPCs for quick money.
"I didn't find it… We might have to go deeper." He said that, though he was at the very last floor of the dungeon, facing off against SS-rank monstrosities, and beyond, with ease. The dangers of the Dragon God's Lair were greatly exaggerated.
There is another way to get the item, actually.
The Star Shop.
Arnold doesn't have access to the Star Shop just yet. He still has to do that quest for Ladiath before he gets access to it.
If he could buy that trash item right now, he could sell it for millions while his magic crystals are still entering the market. As Lucia said, women will kill to have it so he doesn't even have to invest heavily in marketing, only let a few people try it out and spread the word.
Curious about something, he asked the system.
'How many Star Points do I have left?'
-Answer: You have 0 Star Points.
'What the hell!? I levelled up to level 60!'
-Demon Lord Oriel briefly took control of your body and spent it all on his MP stat.
'W-What the hell, why am I finding this out now!? Does that mean when I fight him, he'll be able to use mana in my body!?'
Oriel wasn't just a monstrosity in terms of close combat and martial art, he received guidance from the Monarch Watcher—one of the strongest magicians in the game or better known as the Archmage's equal—so he could cast very powerful magic.
-Answer: Yes.
Arnold groaned internally.
'Why the hell didn't you put a restriction on him like you did with me…'
-Answer: Restrictions are exclusive only to Player Arnold's soul.
'…So that's why my pathetic magic power stat was still at 65 before my death.'
He had the urge to ask how many SP that bastard Oriel used but he had a feeling he'll cry tears of blood.
"-OW!?" the boy who came with Lucia, screamed and rubbed his head while crying.
"U-Um, excuse us for our rudeness." The girl bowed after hitting the boy, "…We did not know Sir Nova would be here today."
"Why the need to apologize?" he wondered.
"Well, we're still in our dirty clothes…" now that he looked closer, he noticed there was green slime all over them and a pungent smell radiating in the room.
"I almost forgot about these two." Lucia scratched her cheek. Elora gave her a side eye as if to say "aren't they the reason you're here!?".
The voluptuous magician approached the two and placed a few fingers on their shoulders, "This rascal is my nephew, Shaun and this young dame is his sweetheart, Idalia. They threw their family names away so that's all you can call them."
Both of them bowed.
"Which party did you assign these two to?" Arnold asked Elora.
"Team Beta. I'm working to get Miss Lucia into the party as well but her guild license is complicating things and the Adventurer Guild isn't being very cooperative with us."
"A spear user and a sword user, huh." Arnold eyed their equipment, "Both of your weapons look chipped and on the verge of collapse. What did you hunt while outside the city?"
"G-Goblins, sir!" Shaun replied, the pitch of his voice high.
"Goblins are complete trash individually so how big was this group of theirs?"
"There were about fifteen of them, all adults." Lucia answered.
"Did you help them?" at his question, she shook her head, "That would make you as strong as E-rank and slightly closer to D-rank."
The two's mouths hung open at the disappointing ranking.
"Unless you can wrestle a hobgoblin barehanded, you will stay below D-rank. Why are the two of you even interested in joining this guild now? Why not strive for strength instead?"
They were probably two to three years younger than him and barely above level 10 (the girl is stronger than the boy at level 12).
Arnold checked their classes and noticed the boy is a Berserker—a class that sacrifices stamina, intelligence and defense for a short burst of power. It's the worst class for the spear that require you to think but those who master both become incredibly powerful.
"I can tell you but you won't like the reason." Lucia sighed, "Both of them want to become porters of Misteltein. That means that, regardless of which party they are a part of, they can opt to carry luggage and not join combat, which makes the condition this guild had specifically for joining other parties on quests, void."
"I see. So, you want to loot our corpses in the event we die?"
"W-What? No!" Shaun retorted, "T-This is the only way I can see Sir Nova's party in action! Y-You have no idea how much I've wanted to meet you after hearing what you did in Nuaria city!"
"Regardless of your motive, you should know combat is forbidden because you will only get in the party's way by acting like some hero. A porter's job is to carry bags and report back to HQ if the main party is wiped out."
"We know…" Idalia looked to the floor.
"I know what Shaun wants, but what do you want? Is this a case of you not wanting to separate from your beloved for too long?"
"That's not it… Uhm, I'm hoping to get ingredients I need for a potion. Some of these ingredients can't be found anywhere else."
'Well, it's true there are many herbs and materials used for rare potions that you can't find outside the World Tree Forest.'
Arnold wanted to collect those as well when he has some time to ask Lian to make him potions that will help with regenerating his internal energy. For now, he postponed it to when he reports back to Ladiath (after getting Suarif's soul).
"I'll allow you to go with us," their eyes brightened up. Arnold could always use his magic bag to carry their stuff but he would need to fish the stuff out every time. It's not like the magic bag tells you where in the empty void your stuff is. He can't do that while fighting powerful monsters. He already gave his lower quality magic bag to Flora and wants to use the one Vetis gave him, only to carry important things he's collected throughout his journey.
"But don't stray from the group. Lucia, you should join us as well."
"Eh? I can?"
"We need magicians who can heal and buff us as well as dispel evil spirits in the air." It's not that he's rusty or incapable of buff magic. He can use buff magic but that isn't his forte and the buffs he always used were in the Tenth Rank and above. He was more of an attack wizard in his days than a jack of all trades. Healing is also out of the question since he never optimized those spells for himself, much less others. As such, it's best to have skilled magicians like Lucia and Elora on the team.
Cameria might also have competent magicians.
"I can deal with normal evil spirits and the like but what about Lucri? The only spell I recall him knowing is a fireball. And ever since news got out that he was the one who cast that vortex in Nuaria city, it's become harder to buy magic sheets."
"Yeah, none of the magic stores had any when I went out to buy…" Elora remarked in disappointment.
"I'll see if I can get my hands on magic sheets." He said that but he'll obviously draw them himself. Now that he can use his Aether as a mana substitute, he can infuse that into the circles he draws. He obviously can't use these spells he has in mind himself since he has an Intelligent stat that's too low. And unlike Elora, he can't bypass his restrictions.
When he has the time, he needs to analyze which spells Elora can cast. With his busy schedule, the two will probably not have a lot of alone time together like when they first started out adventuring together.
Maybe he should make time?
"I can join your party but the guild will try to put pressure on you. As an A-ranker, I am what they consider invaluable to the guild so they might use this chance to start conflict." Lucia voiced her concerns.
"They hate me that much, huh."
"Unfortunately, many still do. Whether it's jealousy, I can't say."
"I'll go speak to Daraia after we're done with the meeting."
"The Guild Master herself? Good luck with that… There's a whole restructuring going on at the guild. The guild is even offering training programs for new adventurers, put under the leadership of A and S-rankers."
"…I heard she went into the dungeon. Did she finally realize what other monstrosities there are in the nine realms?"
"It could be that… but frankly I think she's preparing to go to war with the empire itself."
"Eh? Why is that? Shouldn't she be working with the empire to increase defenses and ensure everyone is ready in case another monster wave comes?" Elora asked a reasonable question.
It's true that in the aftermath of a monster wave that almost destroyed the whole empire, everyone should be working together.
"It's related to that floating dungeon. Letters were given to every adventurer who visits the guild to pick up quests or report back. I was there an hour ago after the children and I returned to the city."
"Daraia probably wants to destroy the dungeon, seeing firsthand what the world will be up against if we leave it. The only thing that will be capable of destroying that dungeon would be a magic bomb."
Lucia nodded, "The technology or more like people who can utilize runes to craft them, aren't alive anymore so it would be impossible to create a similar weapon of destruction. it's a last resort for this empire in case the Demon King invades with his armies before the next Hero is born."
"If I can't reach Daraia then we'll just have to deal with the aftermath later on." He said to Lucia, who nodded, "You two,"
He then looked at Shaun at Idalia.
"Yes!"
"Go get cleaned up. You'll be at tonight's meeting." The two nodded at Arnold and bolted through the lounge area.
'Huh, so the baths are that way. I should go take a dip later.'
"As for me, I'll return in a few hours."
Arnold put on his coat and approached the door.
"Where are you going, Sir Nova?" Elora grabbed his arm, with a smile that seemed almost irritated.
'Yes, I know I leave a lot…'
"…I need to go find someone." That someone being Ruria. He wanted the artifacts her family has as soon as possible so he wanted to know how far along she is with her plans, "It won't take long but if the others are here before I get here, you can start immediately. Just fill me in later."
He opened the door but was greeted by a golden glow, the sunlight reflecting off the golden braids and curls of a certain someone. Her armor was also radiant but was nothing compared to her golden eyes and golden hair.
Behind her stood two people, both women. One a Dark Elf wearing only a small white top that barely hid her breasts and jean shorts that dug into her thighs and butt. One would think she was in her casualwear but her body itself was her armor since she's a martial artist. On top of her casual outfit, she wore sandals.
Beside her was a tall magician with proportions that Arnold only saw on Victoria until now—Admeera, the guild master of the Magician's Guild. She was covered from head to toe in a magician's robe but her cleavage was open for all to see, barely contained by her collar. Normally she would wear a mantle that hid her chest, that acted almost like a king's crown but just like when a king takes off his crown for a break, she did the same for her off-time as guild master of one of the largest guilds.
Lucia scowled when she saw Admeera.
The young woman in front of these two beautiful women was a short woman with delicate porcelain skin, making her look like a sheltered princess but the fire in her eyes burned like a warrior's and the aura she gave off was the only sign one would need to recognize her strength.
Arnold greeted the three before they could say anything, "Leader of Dead End, Madam Admeera and Cameria. I didn't expect you to come so soon…"
Didn't Galadriel leave like ten minutes ago? And why are two of the most influential women in the empire at his doorstep as well???
"Sir Nova, I found the three of them in front of the guild…" Arnold just noticed that Galadriel was behind the tall Admeera, "They were looking for you."
"Why do you only greet them respectfully, bastard!?" Cameria glared at him when he looked back at them, "I'm your senior too!"
"…I apologize."
"Humph! Don't go acting respectful now!" she bumped into his shoulder and came inside without permission.
Arnold looked at her in confusion.
"She's been excited to meet you again," The blonde beauty said with a chuckle, "Oh, and I am not here as the guild master of Dead End, but rather as myself just like during my solo days as an adventurer. As such, call me Alice."
"Please refer to me by name as well," Admeera said after Alice.
"… All right. I was considering asking Cameria if she would be willing to join forces to complete this quest." He said after they came inside.
"That's exactly why the three of us came here," Alice remarked as she took a seat on a barstool in her full plate armor, "Just like Misteltein, Red Storm and Dead End received a request from the Elven Queen herself, asking us to find the source of the World Tree's blight."
"If we succeed, we can avoid the coming of Ragnarok." Said Camera while her bare feet were on the clean bar tables. Arnold wondered how long she went without washing her feet since they looked blacker than her chocolate skin. Glancing at Elora, he noticed her glaring at Cameria specifically. Ah, did she clean the tables herself?
"Ragnarok? What's that?" Upon hearing the strange term, Elora asked. It's not surprising that the average adventurer doesn't know. While there are records of this prophecy, it isn't that widely available so many only hear about from word of mouth. However, the Elves learn about it while learning to read and write.
"It's an event that means the extinction of all realms and the coming of the Cloud of Blight."
Cloud of Blight must be referring to the Dark Forces. But Aedri is preventing it from spreading beyond the Between Realms so they don't need to worry about that at least. But the extinction of all realms is still possible.
"And the World Tree is linked to that?"
"The World Tree keeps the realms stable and prevents otherworldly beings from invading through rifts in space-time." Answered Cameria, "Without its divine power and mana, demon gods could open portals and reign down from the sky and level the entire world."
"Some monsters from the Between Realms could also come down." Arnold remarked. That was something he doesn't look forward to. Even the Dragon Lords could be killed by those things corrupted by a million years' worth of "Blight".
"We wouldn't have a chance so fleeing to the divine realm would be our only means of survival." Admeera added.
"Indeed, the gods would break their code to ensure all of humanity isn't wiped."
'With Guinevere running around, I don't think we have much to worry about.'
She's doing everything in her power to find out why the Faceless can spawn among human settlements even though there are measures against that, like those tall walls in the dungeon worlds and the Intermid Border magic barrier—Billion Year Wall, a spell Lufulur could never quite replicate.
In any case, Arnold was already considering making the Divine Fertilizer so there is zero chance of Ragnarok happening. Of course, he knows that postponing this is just making Rafaela suffer further. Strangely enough, he found himself thinking about her a lot lately ever since finding out her destiny.
The reason for him considering this quest is because he wants to see exactly why the World Tree is dying. Something must be sucking out the World Tree's lifeforce, equivalent to a star exhausting its fuel.
The pit of his stomach was turning as he imagined the worst-case scenario when he reaches the very bottom of the World Tree's roots. It would be something even he wouldn't be able to fight.
"How do you feel about this, Cameria?" He asked the Dark Elf, "Going to the Wood Elf country even though your kind has never interacted with Wood Elves in hundreds of years."
"I'll be fine." She said casually as she put one foot over the other, "We can head out immediately if needed."
"That would be troubling for me since I have places to be." Arnold's reply made her glare at him.
"Who are you to call the shots! Alice and I are the highest-ranking adventurers in this party so it's only fair that we lead and order people around."
"Now, now, Cammy, we didn't let Misteltein know of our plans beforehand so we can't expect him to change his priorities."
"That's why we can have the meeting right now." Alice added, "We can work out the schedule and all agree on a date when we leave."
"I agree!" Elora, probably not wanting to be left out even though she's Vice Leader of Misteltein, chimed in.
"Why did you come to me specifically? I was only considering Cameria's party because she showed interest to work with me."
"We are technically Cammy's party now so that hasn't changed."
"Tch." Cameria clicked her tongue for some reason.
'Two SS-rankers and one S-rank while the rest are A rankers—the most overpowered party there is.' Arnold is lucky, actually.
Admeera might be renowned for her healing magic that is second only to Angelica in the game, but she is also a very competent magician who went on to reach Seventh-Rank magic after Lauran made her a disciple.
He didn't have much information on Cameria and Alice but he could tell by analyzing their statuses that they deserved their SS-class rank. Interestingly, Alice is a Holy Knight, the same class as Lancelot whose class evolved into Sun Knight in the game.
Sun Knight is a Legendary class so it should be clear now why Arnold is lucky.
There is another reason why he's lucky to have her on his side but it's best to leave that conversation for when the two are alone.
"I am not very knowledgeable about the World Tree's roots and what lives at the center so I hope the three of you can help me prepare our party to tackle this quest."
All three of them gave confident smiles.