The constant clanging of heated metal being pounded and the bustle of weapon-crafting rang throughout the second floor of the lobby.
The bustling nuance of the entire area reminded me of the Artisan Avenue in Seraphold.
Dozens of crafters and gatherers carrying materials were scrambling around the lobby second floor.
But they all never failed to step aside and make way for my party as we walked through.
The residents of the second floor knew who we were. Knew what sort of duties we burdened in the lobby.
That knowledge made them dropped their gazes to the ground and slightly bowed their head to us as they said,
"Fortune to the raiders."
Or,
"Victory to the raiders."
The fairy told us it was a greeting the second floor residents had come up with after they listened to my speech during the tenth floor victory celebration.
She said my words made it clear in their minds the heavy responsibility the raid team shouldered.
How we were climbing the tower so we could save the world.
The concept was reinforced strongly when the lobby's residents learned of how Loro was saved in the second Quintal Trial.
A city that should had fallen in the true reality of our world. But had been saved by the brave heroes of the forged land.
The heroes of the raid team.
The raiders.
Fools!
How was I supposed to get my way around the lobby if everyone was praising me like some saint?!
Each praise felt like an insult to my heart given how I brought the raid team to victory on the tenth floor.
No. Jonah was right.
The dead would never return no matter what I do.
I should focus on how to make their deaths count for something.
Since we were on the second floor, we made sure to drop the Replay Stones to the main storage located there.
Master did not say I could bring those to the magic hall depository and I did not have any use for them there anyway.
We then passed by the second floor training ground, where the gatherer parties' combatant escorts were training.
Combatant escorts. Those who guarded the gatherers in the Weekday Dungeons and hunted down the elemental stone guardians.
They did not frequent the tower trials, but they still experienced battles as they fight against the monsters and guardians in the Weekday Dungeons.
I observed those heroes training there and formed a term in my mind.
Status window.
[Bondi Froin (★) Lv.5 (Exp 18/50)]
[Class: Novice]
[Strength: 13]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Stamina: 12]
[Agility: 11]
[Skills: Basic Swordsmanship Lv.2, Basic Shield Technique Lv.1, Trail Tracking Lv.1, Woodcutting Lv.3, Quarry Lv.2, Foraging Lv.1]
.
.
[Leslinne Markas (★) Lv.4 (Exp 7/40)]
[Class: Novice]
[Strength: 11]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Stamina: 11]
[Agility: 12]
[Skills: Basic Archery Lv.2, Basic Dagger Technique Lv.1, Trail Tracking Lv.2, Game Finding Lv.3, Game Trapping Lv.2, Hunter of the Forest Lv.1]
Thanks to the improvement of the Hero Reaction Research, party leaders were now able to observe others' status window.
It was a useful function to evaluate a comrade's or a potential hero's capabilities.
There were limitations, however.
A party leader could not observe status window of heroes in parties which number precedes theirs.
For example, Party 5 leader could not observe the status window of anyone in Party 1 to 4.
But they could observe anyone's in Party 5, Party 6 and beyond, even a party leader's.
I was the leader of Party 1. So I was able to observe everyone's in the lobby.
Consequently, those who did not have a party assignment could have their status window observed by any party leader.
There were cases where one was exempted from this rule.
A combat instructor, who usually did not have a party assignment, was allowed to observe any hero assigned to the training ground supervised by the said combat instructor.
The trainees, however, could not observe their combat instructor without permission.
The fairy said there were ways to alter this rule. But it was not possible at the moment.
Anyway, I could not help but sigh at the status windows of the heroes on the second floor.
They were all the combatant escorts in the gatherer parties.
Their main duty was to aid with the activities in the Weekday Dungeons. Killing the elemental stone guardians and its cronies was what they do.
These heroes did not frequent the trials in the Main Dungeon, the tower. Not anymore.
Despite having numerous skills useful in gathering resources, their combat skill levels were less than barely adequate. In comparison to the heroes of the raid team.
Some of their statuses' growth rate were also the worst I had ever seen in the forged land.
Even if they levelled up to level 13 like Jonah and Shanny, I doubted they would be capable enough to climb the tower, let alone attempt the Quintal Trial.
I had expected this, but we could not rely on the combatant escorts to immediately fill the vacancies in Party 2 and 3.
Some might be talented enough, but it would take time to properly develop them into the sort of comrades we needed in the raid team.
It would be a while before Party 2 could resume climbing. Much longer for the non-existent Party 3.
My comrades and I eventually went up the giant staircase leading to the third floor of the lobby.
The fairy was telling the truth.
The entire floor seemed like a whole different world in comparison to the rest of the lobby.
My comrades were left speechless and gaping at the sight of the third floor.
Numerous walled training grounds were scattered all over the area. All were encompassing a beautiful manor at the center. The lodging.
The arrangement made the whole lobby floor seemed like a military ground.
To one side I could find the magic hall towering. The exterior had turned grander just like the fairy said.
As my comrades and I were making our way toward the lodging, we caught sight of three people practicing in a training ground near the stairs.
Two heroes were battling each other, while one was supervising.
A bare-chested muscular man with scars all over his arm stood on the side of the field with his heavy sword planted on the ground.
Zecht observed the pair of women battling in front of him.
Norn, who was in a sleeveless shirt and knee-high pants, raised her halberd to shield herself from her opponent.
Clang!
The thrust of an ivory-bladed spear was parried easily by Norn's dark heavy halberd.
With her gray-streaked dark hair swinging around like a fox's bushy tail, Norn's opponent pulled her weapon and launched another attack.
A horizontal swipe to Norn's right.
The halberd-wielder easily blocked the attack using its thick shaft.
But her opponent suddenly drew an ivory-bladed knife from the patterned sheath strapped on the flank of her ribcage and thrusted the weapon to Norn's unguarded side.
Unfazed, the 3-star mercenary simply grabbed her opponent's arm with her other free hand, stopping the knife mid-thrust.
While one hand holding her halberd blocking the spear and the other grasping her opponent's knife-handling arm, Norn kicked her opponent hard on the stomach.
"Argh!"
Norn's opponent dropped her weapons involuntarily due to the pain. Her knees fell hard to the ground, drained.
Now that she was keeping still, I could see the woman more clearly.
Not a woman, actually. Just a girl.
Barely few years older than Tarran. Around Deria's age, perhaps.
The girl's tied hair ran down to her shoulders. Thorny and bushy like a fox's tail, but also slightly curled like a pig's.
Her face was painted with crimson and yellow streaks. All the lines were overshadowed by the fierce pale blue eyes of hers.
The pattern painted on her face matched with those on her gray leather clothing. As well as on the sheath of her knife.
You could never mistake that look for anyone else's but a Kutub hunter's.
"You have a very good skill. But the gap between our levels is just too great."
Norn said to her kneeling opponent.
Zecht nodded upon her words.
"No matter what you do, you'll never be able to overwhelm Norn at the moment. That's just how this place works. You'll have to be patient until you level up a bit more."
The girl grunted at the two 3-stars' comments.
A tremendous aura suddenly blasted off from her entire surface.
['Arian (★★★)' has gone berserk!]
The Kutub hunter snatched her spear and leaped toward Norn with the weapon's tip aimed at the woman's throat.
Norn sighed and easily avoided the surprise attack and repelled as easily the following barrage of assaults.
Zecht chuckled at the sight of the enraged girl. Amused by her stubbornness.
He then noticed us watching behind him.
"Ah! You guys are back! How was the expedition?"
"It went well. A newcomer?"
I said while nodding to the Kutub warrior.
Norn had noticed us as well and simply smiled at us as a greeting.
She continued parrying away the girl's deadly yet non-threatening attacks.
"Arian Zenithar. A 3-star and a fledgling hunter of the Hollow Valley Tribe. A Kutub folk."
Zecht introduced.
Jonah nodded approvingly toward the girl.
"I've met a few Kutub traders before. Fierce people. One of them taught me how to craft a makeshift spear, as well as teaching me how to kill a wolf with it."
That would explain many things about Jonah's fighting style.
"She can use Berserk too. I can't wait to fight her in training."
Shanny said with an eager smile.
"Arian would love that. She kept forcing us to duel with her all the time. And she's been wanting to meet you guys too."
Zecht said with an exhausted smile.
"Then why don't we hurry back to the lodging, change into our training clothes, and return here to get acquainted with our new comrade?"
Trudy said excitedly to our party.
I nodded to her.
"Yes, that would be best. But I believe there's someone else who has been more eager to meet us."
My comrades turned to me with confused frowns.
They followed my gaze as I turned to a wall bordering another training ground next door.
"Are you going to keep hiding there or will you come out and greet us?"
Ever since the fairy mentioning of the new arrivals, I had been deploying my detection field all around us.
I would very much like to be aware of their presences before they were aware of mine.
"Nothing get past you, it seems. I should've known."
A melodious voice replied from the other side.
Promptly, a woman, cladded in a pale brown veil covering the lower half of her face, climbed on top of the wall and calmly stood there while looking down on us.
A pair of curved swords were hanging on her back, forming a perfect circle like a full moon.
Scimitars, the type of weapon common in the Great Desert.
I wasted no time to observe the second newcomer.
[Devisha (★★★) Lv.2 (Exp 3/20)]
[Class: Rogue]
[Strength: 17]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Stamina: 16]
[Agility: 18]
[Skills: Basic Dual-Swords Technique Lv.3, Basic Dagger Technique Lv.2, Dagger-throwing Lv.1, Switching Lv.1, Trap Detection Lv.1, Stealthy Movement Lv.1, Nimble Movement Lv.1]