Chapter 81 - First Exploration ( 1 )

Cyril then looked at Myrtle who seemed to be very nervous now. There's only the two of them here after all.

This athletic E-Rank Awakened wasn't invited by the three other teams due to an obvious reason, her rank doesn't have any future at all.

'Well… I'm already thinking of having someone to with me. I guess this isn't that bad…'

"Let's team up?"

Cyril asked as he smiled at her. He doesn't care about ranks anyway.

Myrtle looks a bit average compared to Karen and Naomi… However, she seemed to be determined to become a good Arcane Explorer. She brought a full set of battle gears and was equipped with two light gauntlets.

Her martial arts most likely relies on her fist.

"If it's fine with you, then I'll accept. However, I'm not sure how would I fare here with my E-Rank Aura."

Myrtle said with a bitter smile. She knows her strength really well.

This is also her first time entering an Arcane World! Though the place looks very peaceful and lovely, she knows that the lush forest is full of danger. She can underestimate this at all!

"Great… But wait, I'll just ask something to the experts." Cyril said as he looked at Freymann…

"Sir, may I know if the treasures that we will look for were natural treasures or planted treasures by the Association?"

Freymann squinted his eyes as he thought that it's a weird question.

"Is that important? Anyway, we are expecting you to find the treasures we've hidden. There shouldn't be any natural treasures here anyway. But if you found them, it still doesn't matter. All will be yours…" Freymann answered…

Axel even nodded with a smile. He recalled that he had participated in hiding treasures about six months ago as well.

"Alright… Thank you so much, seniors… We will be moving now." Cyril said as he bowed slightly at the experts. He then gestured to Myrtle to head down on a different path from the three other groups.

They are headed towards the still lake.

'Well... I guess I'm lucky.' Cyril thought as he held his Pixie's Lucky Token!

This Luck Item allows him to locate hidden treasures after all! Though its effectiveness may not be a hundred percent, they still have a higher chance than just searching blindly!

***

"Miss Vanessa, are you planning to visit the volcano?" Axel Holst politely asked the charming lady as soon as all the recruits have left.

"Mhmm… But I'm planning to observe them for a while. If I got bored, I'll be going there to check the lizards…" Vanessa answered as she looked in the direction that Leon and Cyril took.

After a while, she decided to follow Cyril's path leaving the group.

Axel faintly smiled. He can't really tell her what to do since her position is quite special.

Anyway, now that she's following Cyril's path, it would be easier for them to protect the other groups in case they are in danger.

"Freymann… You're the one who's managing this Arcane World for the past couple of months. I think you should be telling us what you did here… I'm pretty sure that the plain not too far from the gorge wasn't like that before." Allan suddenly said.

As a B-Rank Awakened, he wasn't always working in this kind of babysitting mission. It was only because they are lacking some Awakened recently due to the appearance of a new Artifact that was discovered in many Arcane Worlds.

Most of their contracted Awakened are being sent out to find those mysterious beads.**

"That place was previously just a flower field. Those flowers weren't anything especially aside from being food for the Spriggans…" Freymann answered.

"Ohh… So you mean that the Spriggans ate all of them? There should only be about 20 of them remaining, right?" Axel asked.

"That was three months ago. They have multiplied by a hundred times now."

"Ugh… Too many? Should we kill some of them?" Axel asked as he looked at the forest where two groups have already entered.

"It's not like they are moving on a pack like those Metal Wolves. They like to move alone so there shouldn't be a problem. Besides, those Spriggans are only at E-Rank anyway." Freymann said not worried at the recruits at all.

***

"You're quite happy, Sir Cyril…" Myrtle said noticing his grinning face.

"Ahh… You don't have to call me, Sir… We're both eighteen, right? Just call me Cyril and I'll call you Myrtle, cool?"

"Alright, Cyril… It's good that I teamed up with you." Myrtle faintly smiled recalling Leon and the other's cold treatment to her.

"Heh~ Don't thank me yet. Let's do our best here first."

The two chatted for a while as they go down the slope of the hill.

They talked about their strengths and weaknesses but avoided their secrets…

"My boots may be simple but this is a rare E-Rank Item… It can help me lighten my weight and run faster, so I might outrun you if we needed to flee so don't blame me."

"Haha… That's great… Anyway, with my Musket, I will be fighting from behind. However, don't be afraid that I'll hit you accidentally. I'm quite good with this gun."

"Ohh… Then that's reassuring…" Myrtle smiled as she looked at the Goblin's Musket… This item should've been banned as far as she knows.

However, since it passed the inspection, it means that Cyril's Musket wasn't those self-inflicting Goblin Musket that she heard about.

After about five minutes of walking, the two finally arrived at the nearby forest… The trees here have purplish trunks and red leaves.

Though they can be taken out, they aren't some precious trees where the Association can be bothered to allocate manpower to collect them.

"How's your herbology?"

"Hmm?" Myrtle glanced at Cyril before answering…

"Not that good. However, I should at least know many dangerous plants, flowers, and fruits. I passed the License Exam, after all."

"That makes sense… Then let's enter."

Cyril said as he lead the way.

Apparently, his Luck Token heated up! This object will emit some heat if he had gotten near to any planted treasures!

However, Cyril still has to be careful… After all, the token might even treat a hidden bomb as a treasure. It means that danger and opportunity can come hand in hand!