[Raid Party 13/20]
["Anti-Solo" side quest completed.]
[Earned Unique Title: Rising Leader]
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[Rising Leader]
-> All party members gain full last hit experience.
-> Effect requirement: At least 13 party members.
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[Congratulations for being the owner of the title in the Canada Server. Further benefits will be provided after February 1st. Please survive until then.]
Vincent's breath hitched, his mind clicking.
'Vancouver being a safe zone isn't a coincidence. We need to get there as soon as possible.'
The last of his hesitation faded at that thought. Within fifteen minutes, the party left the University under Joseph's escort—he didn't offer it but naturally followed them until the entrance.
In his last attempt to bring them over to his side, Joseph spoke about their plans to leave Regina in two weeks.
"We have the cars ready and enough gasoline to get us to Vancouver. If you ever change your mind, meet us by January 18th."
Vincent returned his handshake once again, considering his offer. "Thank you. We'll be there by noon if I do change my mind."
The party left without anyone turning back once.
Even the professor distracted himself with the party window, knowing full well how easy it was for him to feel guilty.
After ten minutes, their silhouettes disappeared into the dark.
"Ahmad, Carl, go follow them," Joseph ordered, walking back into the building.
"Sir? But the lockdown is at 11 p.m."
Ahmad voiced out before Carl could, mirroring each other's disbelief.
"Yes? They're the ones doing the hunting. As scouts, you need to gather intel for the betterment of the team! Now go before you lose track of them!"
Joseph's irritation was palpable, and everyone could hear it in his tone.
Subconsciously, they all took a step back and lowered their presence.
Hastily, albeit unwillingly, Ahmad and Carl left to catch up with Vincent's party, keeping a close distance while using the Scout's basic skill.
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[Whisperstep] | 300 mana | 6 seconds cooldown
-> Air Attribute
-> Requires normal to minimal movement
-> Reduces all sounds produced to within 0.5 meters
-> Weak to Earth
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They moved out as if death had a hold over their lives. To them, the consequences of disobedience weighed heavier than being mauled by a random Revenant.
Vincent's party was ignorant of the matter.
Right as they entered a residential area, they stopped to let Angel use her campfire skill.
There wasn't anything different in her preparation except for the fact that one of the requirements was a name.
"Pekpek."
Vincent was startled.
"Angel!"
"What?"
Opening her palms innocently, she couldn't keep up her act and started grinning cheekily.
"You know I named all my pets Pekpek and OchinChin. And this is technically my first pet!"
Daniel was a beat slower with his reaction.
"You vulgar woman! We're not playing for fun here! At least be considerate of your pet's feelings! I'm betting my Snickers it's going to burn you for it!"
"It's my fucking pet! Fine, I'm betting my Smarties that it will burn you instead!"
Vincent's lips were twitching. He glanced at the professor, who sharply turned to check on Finnley, scrutinizing his fur.
When Vincent looked around, he noticed that the entire party had turned their backs—their faces were stern as if they were guarding seriously.
"Right…"
Angel cast the spell in that moment, and the campfire ignited, driving away the cold in an instant.
Then the wood started splitting itself, breaking, and rebuilding. The fire's diameter narrowed slightly as a six-legged wooden spider-like automaton with the campfire on its back appeared before them.
Two rectangular slits opened at its front, and using its own fire, they moved like eyes.
It blinked at Angel.
"Oh my god, I want to hug it!"
Angel clenched her fists, struggling to keep herself from pouncing on it.
Pekpek was the new attraction that distracted the party for a full five minutes. It moved wherever Angel told it to. And if she was at least half a meter away, it would start following her.
Nobody could deny it anymore. It really was a pet.
When Daniel told it to burn Angel for naming it such, Pekpek's flames brightened instead and started chasing after him.
Angel laughed for a good while before telling it to stop, and she pocketed Daniel's Snickers right after.
After the shenanigans died down, Vincent confirmed that the cold was still being kept at bay. He questioned why the snow wasn't melting for a second but ultimately blamed it on the system.
"Alright, let's start. If the duration is the same, the spell should last about an hour."
Heading back toward the care home would take less, but since they were night hunting, the party took the longer route.
A few minutes later—
They encountered two [Frost Rabbit lvl 2]. Both about a hundred HP.
At the start of any battle, Vincent was always the one taking the first aggro. He shot at both of the rabbits' torsos and began dodging their attacks.
"Good news. We won't have to worry about last hitting anymore. So who wants to start warming up?"
Everyone became rowdy, volunteering to be the first. But since all the combatants volunteered simultaneously, the decision was left to a good ol' rock, paper, and scissors.
The eagerness to fight baffled the professor, who was standing next to Finnley.
He had seen the battles of one of the University groups, and more than half of them would start running toward cover.
Yet Vincent's party was standing in the streets. Three of them were keeping an eye out for ambushes, but the rest joined the little tournament.
Even the clerics were boldly standing where they were, and Palya had a notebook and pen constantly in her hands.
The professor was also confused by his friend's reaction.
By now, Finnley would have started growling at the monsters, placing his body in front of the professor. But none of that was happening.
Instead, the dog was sitting with his tongue out, and the professor understood that it was waiting to be called for its meal.
'Why do I feel safer here than at the University?'
But the shocks he received didn't end there.
The professor knew the party was using blades as weapons, but he was under the assumption that it was as a last resort.
Nobody was suicidal enough to engage in close proximity with an Elemental, much less a Revenant.
But after seeing a cleric and a mage melee the lvl 2 Frost Rabbits, the professor suddenly felt his world turning upside down.
Especially since both Ben and Theo were slashed by its claws and yet no one in the team cried out in alarm.
He watched as both men gritted their teeth, pushing through the pain and continuing to battle the rabbits right until they killed one each.
The professor couldn't take it anymore and approached Beatrice, who was the only one looking worried.
"Excuse me. Pardon my language, but what the actual fuck?"
Beatrice blanked, tilting her head. "What's wrong, professor?"
"Have they completely lost their minds? Why do I not see even a hint of fear on their faces?"
Understanding washed over Beatrice. Flashes of their training crossed her mind—both in battle and the mandatory exercises that Vincent told them to do every day.
She herself was still struggling to reach ten semi push-ups, but the routine itself had affected her mindset in ways she hadn't realized.
Until the professor was pointing it out.
"Oh professor~ My husband Henry has been punching lvl 2 rabbits before he even got the sword!"
She then proceeded to animatedly recount the story, her pride for her husband in full display. But she reeled herself in time and explained how it wasn't that the party had no fear—they just learned which monsters to fear.
The professor didn't stop her from explaining the name tags even when he already knew about them.
Beatrice thought that this reason was enough to explain why everyone seemed so desensitized, but the people the professor had been with wouldn't even fight a green-tagged monster if they could avoid it.
Hunting for the University group was carefully choosing their prey.
But hunting for Vincent's party was fighting whatever came their way.
Vincent had trained the party to expect the unexpected and to know how to react when a monster they had no information about would appear.
Therefore, fighting monsters they were familiar with brought no fear.
This became more evident as the night deepened. And the professor watched, numb with shock, as the party killed rabbits, rats, and some wandering geese.
By the end of the hour, standing before the care home that didn't look safe, the professor was fully convinced that he had nothing to worry about.
'I should have known. When Vincent isn't alone, he is still an overly cautious man.'
Total experience gained: 665
Aside from the professor, everyone reached level 4.
And naturally, they had the ability to choose to postpone the installation of the full game, making Vincent sigh heavily.
'Trash game.'
"Alright, stop making those faces. Don't make me add another ten into your morning sets."
The mass pity he gained quickly vanished as the party busied themselves in preparation for sleep.