Becoming Legend

Chapter 196: Laying Plan

40 minutes passed. Ned and Sujiro rendezvous with the rest of the team.

Sujiro took the dead parasite off the body of the dead saber guy and threw it at the center of the group.

The parasite was covered with thin, almost transparent, skin. Its entrails were visible from the inside. Underneath its faceless form was a jugular surrounded by countless sharp teeth.

The throw made the parasite rolled and stopped underneath the Porter's foot. Baso took a small jump, surprised by the small parasitic beast. Bits of meat were stuck between its teeth.

"Is that?" Hunter Jo said, hands on his laps. Just like the others, he sat on a piece of wood overgrown by white fungi. Twali and Margaret were nowhere to be found, it appears that they were letting the Hallowguard team proceeds with their own decisions.

Sujiro nodded, their travel took a bit of toll on him. He breathes to calm himself. "It appears we might have a number of problems here, Gon."

This was the first time Ned heard Sujiro talking to their team leader, and in the eastern part of Cassan, Gon appeared to be a form of respect addressed to their elder or leaders.

Respectively, the team sat, forming a circle, with Hunter Jo followed by Hunter Ja, the Twins, Baso, and Swift on the tail.

They were surrounded by bushes, and trees, and rocks. The setting sun was breaking through the gaps of the fat trees from the West.

Hunter Jo stood and examined the dead parasite, inside its soft body was a faint light that slowly dimmed to nothingness. After the light, which Ned considered to be the absorbed mana, completely vanished, the parasite's body slowly cracked like devoid of any liquid. Slowly, the body crumbled to dust. Until the breeze of the wind swept it off the ground like remnants of burned paper.

The connection between Ned and Swift was reserved as the latter nodded without too much of a meaning. She was focused on being Swift and being a Looter. Ned nodded as a response and stopped behind Baso, and folded his arm behind his back to listen and coordinate with the team if possible. The saber slung behind his back with a makeshift strapping he got from the dead hunter. The saber was noticed by Hunter Ja before giving a thoughtful nod to Ned.

Sujiro proceeds beside their leader.

Baso the short-haired, tanned skin that doesn't appear to be a Companion at all with its expensive leather strapping nodded over his shoulder, beside him was Swift.

Hunter Jo went back to his seat and remained silent. The old leader nodded to Ned and Sujiro.

The latter took it as a sign to start.

Sujiro explained everything that had happened with their encounter against the other hunters and the goblins. Leaving the part where he strangled Ned. The Twin's lips arched up upon hearing that the goblins have appeared as well. They seemed to hate goblins.

As Sujiro gave a quick brief about the event, Ned's eyes swept over the team. Ulysses, the knight, was nowhere to be found. He was on sentry duty. Their team was efficient in terms of task delegations. They might make it through.

We should, Ned thought. There's no other way than this.

Detect, his voice echoed and followed by an invisible aura collapsing out from his body as the epicenter.

Nine living and warm figures appeared under Ned's HUD. They bundled all together in the center of his display, while Ulysses circles the rest of the group in a 25-meter radius.

Twali and Margaret might be too strong, that Ned's lowest level of Detect was unable to determine their location. Or, perhaps, they were humans, too skilled to hide their Mana Leak.

They were safe, currently.

"Goblins," Holly said, disgust broke his tone, hands clutching between her breast.

"Too weak," Molly added. "But in a group, they were like Sleeping Disease, incurable, and devastating."

"Then what now, Gon?" Sujiro said, fingering his messy hair. He might have lost an idea.

To Ned's surprise, it wasn't Hunter Jo laying the plan.

Hunter Ja coughed over a balled fist and rested them on his lap like his older brother. "We proceed with the plan," he said. Eyes aligned to his brother, waiting for a nod. Which Hunter Jo did. Ja then proceed. "But this time, we will have to expand more of our mana." He raised a finger toward the Twins. "Holly, Molly," he said with a slight pause. Voice was raspy but barren of any doubt. "You were to fill your Sphere with your mana."

I'm afraid, this quest will take longer than what we have expected. With all the Hunters coming into play, we need to take extra caution. So, I want you two to have mana reserved inside the Sphere. We don't know how long the fights will take, especially that the goblins started to leave their territory. Also, no more scouting. Sujiro will take the lead with Ulysses, as always when we are in a tight spot. We need Sujiro's quick response and Ulysses's protection. I want the fights to be quick. Companions will be protected in the middle as we kept on moving forward."

The Twins nodded.

So, the Twins were the glass cannons, while Sujiro and Ulysses were the vanguards, unusual for a rouge. Ned wondered how Hunter Ja, the mage clad in chainmail, fights, and his role in the team. His brother was a mage as well.

Hunter Ja's crystal spear was split into two, making him look like a dual-wielding warrior rather than a mage with the detached spear hanging on his waist.

Hunter Jo held nothing but his bare hands. He was set in heavy armor, yet he was a mage.

Ned concluded, the two weren't just mages, but hybrids. Ned was having thoughts on how would they fight, but the quests come first. And their stances and spells were an extra reward for him to learn.

A group of four mages, a rouge, and a knight. Perhaps they might make it back.

Baso was half listening as his head kept on sweeping back and forth forward the horizon. Afraid that maybe someone or something might jump them. He never spoke, timid perhaps.

Swift nodded, and light of green and white broke the shadow beside her.

The Twins were filling their Sphere Claims, it looked the same as the one that Ned had used, with Toni and Xi, during the Selection process. Curiosity struck Ned.

Holly nodded, looking at Ned, and said, "They're Spheres to store mana. Mages are limited to a set of spells and the amount of mana to be used every day. So we need to fill this Sphere to have extra mana stored just in case we went dry."

Ned nodded and was cut off by Hunter Jo before he could even speak.

"I'm afraid this wasn't just a 'just in case' this time."

Sujiro nodded and said, "If hunters were being controlled then we need to expect that we will encounter a lot of them. This is Du'kki if I remembered correctly."

The Twins rolled their eyes, but they weren't hating Sujiro. It was as if they were used to him mocking them, they were a team after all.

The Spheres were used as back up plans whenever mages depleted their mana. Just like how Ned absorbs the Mana Stones and store it inside his body.

Molly smiled and gave the Sphere to Ned. Inside was her mana. Green, sometimes white light swirling inside the glass Sphere. The Sphere on Ned's hand was light, the size was half his fist but bigger than the Mana Stones.

What if Ned absorbs the mana? This has crossed Ned's mind, and again, curiosity struck him. In a blink, the glass Sphere was emptied. But not even a single tick his Mana increased. Too impure, or too little, perhaps.

Molly gasped and shook her head. "The Sphere is broken again, Sujiro," Ned said.

Sujiro knitted his brows and said, "No, I bought it at the Merchant Guild. They said the Sphere was fresh from the Capital. Don't tell me you rushed filling it. If you did, of course, it will spill of mana. Come on, Molly."

"At 'the' Merchant Guild?" Holly interjected, eyes studying the Sphere Ned was holding.

"Yes," Sujiro said. "At 'the' Merchant Guild."

"Here," Ned said. Forcing himself not to throw a wary smile. It wasn't broken nor a dun. Ned siphoned the mana in a blink of an eye, and since most of it was impure, Ned could barely feel the mana running his veins.

Hunter Ja threw a suspicious look at Ned.

"How do I talk to Master Twali?" Ned said after handing the Sphere.

"Just say his name," Hunter Jo the team leader said. "And he'll be here."

So Ned did, and Twali appeared behind him out of nowhere. But before that, the air swooshed from above, and all Ned could see was a blur across the horizon and Twali stood behind him as if he was there all along.

"Yes?" Twali said, his servant attitude and posture purposely exudes.

Ned muttered beside Twali. The servant nodded with stiffness as if Ned's request was colliding with his ego.

Twali let out a long sigh and flicked a wrist. Two Mana Stone summoned out his ring. The group gasped in awe and surprise.

"For the Twins," Twali said, then paced backward, leaving a smile and a blur under the shadows.

They all look at Ned, even Swift. Especially Swift the Lord's daughter in disguise. Now, she might have ideas as to why his father was sticking to Ned. Her shoulders lowered in defeat.

The Twins were overjoyed as they absorb the mana from the mana stone. Their smiles were wide as their bodies sways left and right as if they were in an opera.

Hunter Jo nodded thanks to Ned.

"We will wait for the Twins to fill their Spheres," Hunter Jo said looking at Ned.

"No problem with me," Ned said. "I need all the chances I could get. This mission means life to me. So I need all to be prepared."

"Very well," Hunter Ja said, standing. Flicking his leather pants with dust. Chainmail clanking with the gesture. "We will proceed with the plan. We only rest when needed." He paused looking at the team. "Proceed to prepare things. We'll leave in an hour."