"Is it really that amazing?"
After a long silence, Osborn handed The Genius Adventuring Party Guidelines back to Anser, his expression strange.
The guidelines themselves were written in fairly broad terms, but the section about sharing talents was enough to make anyone's imagination run wild.
"Then I definitely need to join." He laughed as if he didn't care, though there was still a trace of unease in his eyes.
The moment the words left his mouth, an itchy tingling sensation spread across the back of his hand. He instinctively pulled it back, only to discover a magical mark had appeared there, resembling some kind of six-winged humanoid creature.
"I think you should write a self-introduction and post it on the bulletin board. It'll help everyone get to know each other better. If you have any questions, just ask. Everyone's pretty easy to get along with..." Anser said with a smile.
"Mhm." Osborn nodded.
He carefully examined his body but didn't detect any hidden dangers.
Casting aside his worries, he opened the Party Storage and began studying it in earnest.
Anser smiled without saying anything. Closing his eyes, he pulled up Osborn's Character Sheet.
His highest attribute was Dexterity, at 21 points. Among all party members, he was the only one whose attribute had surpassed the limits of ordinary mortals.
That was directly related to the natural talents of halflings.
His other attributes were impressive as well. His Wisdom had reached 18.
His weakest attribute was Strength, at only 15, though that was perfectly normal. Halflings were never known for their physical power.
But Osborn's greatest strengths weren't his attributes.
It was his collection of Feats and his exceptionally high skill proficiencies.
Athlete, Chef, Tough, Skill Expert, Stealth +9, Sleight of Hand +9, Acrobatics +8...
'That'll keep me learning for a very long time.'
Anser was in an excellent mood, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
He suddenly realized that future party members should probably be chosen from long-lived races whenever possible.
They lived long enough to accumulate vast knowledge and experience.
There would be plenty worth learning from.
"This bulletin board really does make communication convenient," Osborn suddenly remarked in a relaxed tone.
He had briefly reviewed the member information. Everyone was scattered across different regions, making it incredibly efficient for passing along intelligence.
Especially under the current circumstances, it was far simpler than running around by himself.
"Then you'll be responsible for Bral."
Closing the Character Sheet, Anser pulled out a stack of papers from his Avaricious Dragonhide Pouch and activated the Wizardly Quill built into his spellbook to begin copying.
Before long, sheets covered with the rune sequence of the Teleportation Circle were neatly spread across the table.
Osborn couldn't understand the runes, but he quickly realized what they were and immediately grasped the risks involved.
"Isn't the price a little too high?"
He felt Anser had no need to go this far. Traveling by spelljamming ship would only take longer.
Anser smiled.
"This is only a temporary opening. Contact General Smokefire in Giff-town, and that hill dwarf Bruno we met last time. Have them send people to help maintain the security of the Teleportation Circle, so nobody causes trouble or deliberately sabotages it."
"After this battle, I can continue allowing them access to the Teleportation Circle. They'll only need to cover the operating costs."
"Hah, that's a great idea. They'll definitely agree."
The whiskers at the corners of Osborn's mouth twitched with excitement.
"Then I'll leave this place to you."
Anser handed him the stack of papers containing the rune sequence and stored away the remaining copies himself.
"Heh, then let's make some real trouble."
Watching Osborn's departing figure, Anser turned and entered the basement.
He adjusted the Teleportation Circle to fully open status, allowing anyone with the rune sequence to teleport directly to the location.
After that, he removed the Arcane Lock from the stone building and personally wrote a set of usage regulations for the Teleportation Circle, posting them on the door at the basement entrance.
'Hopefully there won't be too many idiots looking for trouble.'
He teleported back to Holrewen, summoned the Wizardly Quill, and carefully documented all the intelligence related to Bane's Chosen.
Then he copied it several more times and placed every copy into the Party Storage.
The next morning, this news would spread throughout the Durlag Union, White Stone Island, Dawn Town, and Bral, then continue outward at an astonishing pace.
After finishing everything, he let out a breath and teleported away.
Looking down at the dark wilderness below and listening to the distant howls of beasts, he decided to cut his rest short.
'Time to work harder. Tonight, the hunt continues!'
He was in excellent condition right now. Sleeping, studying, or making holy water all felt like a waste of time.
He might as well purify a bit of this land that had been tainted by Underdark creatures and earn a small reward in the process.
Of course, hunting required strategy. Charging around blindly wouldn't do.
Fortunately, he had an excellent reconnaissance tool: the Farseeing Scope.
It wasn't very useful underground, but out in the wilderness it worked wonderfully.
Raising the telescope to his eye, he surveyed the land below.
The winding River Chionthar flowed beneath him. To the west lay Baldur's Gate, while the south and east were covered by endless wilderness, occasionally dotted with villages and small settlements, most of which had already been ravaged by Underdark creatures.
As far as the eye could see, there were barely any lights.
The traces of Underdark creatures, however, were everywhere.
Aside from a handful of Duergar and drow, the majority were weaker creatures such as goblins and kobolds. Occasionally, he even spotted a few undead.
'Escaped slaves, or intentional?'
He leaned toward the latter.
The Underdark creatures would constantly harass and hunt nearby surface dwellers, gradually expanding their sphere of activity while creating a buffer zone between opposing forces.
Two birds with one stone.
Meanwhile, quite a few survivors still lived throughout the wilderness.
They had formed scattered enclaves, huddling together for survival and barely scraping by as they competed with both beasts and Underdark creatures for limited resources.
'A new ecosystem ruled by primitive laws.'
Silently sighing, he summoned Maeve and the pseudodragon Rex and began tonight's hunt.
Their first target was a newly formed goblin tribe consisting of roughly a dozen ordinary goblins and a single hobgoblin.
Maeve was the primary combatant.
After mastering three 3rd-level spells, her combat power had skyrocketed.
For once, Maeve herself seemed unusually motivated.
One Melf's Minute Meteors after another blasted the hobgoblin to death with ease before she chased down the fleeing goblins and finished them off.
Rex tried his best to contribute, but after all his effort, he only managed to steal two kills.
A smile appeared on Anser's face.
Maeve was the Arcane Spirit of the Book of Castella. Since her arcane power ultimately originated from him, every bit of experience she earned flowed directly into his experience pool.
The true meaning of leveling up while lying down.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.
After only two waves of enemies, Maeve had already had her fill.
"This kitty is tired."
She flopped back onto the spellbook and assumed an utterly exhausted pose, completely ignoring her master's stare.
Anser silently rolled his eyes and had no choice but to do the work himself.
The hunt continued for more than three hours.
Fighting his way dozens of kilometers farther from Baldur's Gate, he spent roughly a third of his Magic Power and earned over three thousand experience points.
Most of that time had been spent traveling.
The Underdark creatures had only recently occupied Baldur's Gate and were acting with complete impunity. They wandered everywhere in scattered groups, forcing him to fly all over the place just to earn that bit of experience.
He wasn't tired of killing.
He was tired of flying.
'That's enough for today.'
Tomorrow, he still needed to deliver messages to the Magic Research Society and Dawn Town. He couldn't neglect Brunhilde's situation either.
There were far too many things waiting to be handled.
Just as he was about to leave, several lights caught his eye.
He climbed higher and focused his gaze.
A battle was taking place along a distant riverbank.
One side consisted of a small group of humans.
The other was a large monster with a round, bloated body supported by three legs.
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