Chapter 81: Group Trip

The rover landed gracefully, without disturbing the surrounding air.

The nearby spirit tamers cast perfunctory glances before busying themselves. Although uncommon, the Rioter-T8 rover wasn't worth gawking at. Occasionally, a few could be seen leaving Forest Gate with teams of spirit tamers.

As the rover's headlights dimmed, the wing doors flew open, and Frans and Paula alighted from within. They lived in the central region of the city, relatively close by.

Similar to Ain and Hugo, they were also adorning light armor, with daggers sheathed on their waist.

"Wow, they actually brought a Rioter-T8!" Hugo exclaimed as he approached with amazement.

Ain also walked over while appraising the rover curiously. He wasn't surprised by their ability to acquire a rover. Frans' family was extremely wealthy in Duskfield City, and Paula's mechanical spirit pet confirmed her financial status.

Frans met Ain's gaze, who nodded in greeting, before turning towards Hugo.

"Hey, Frans. Nice to finally meet you!" Hugo greeted Frans with enthusiasm. They had already become acquainted in the "Team" group chat, but this was their first meeting in person.

Frans similarly smiled, "Nice to meet you too, Hugo."

In the group chat, Hugo's lively personality had become apparent, dispelling any awkwardness from this meeting.

Paula waved at Ain before greeting Hugo, whom she had encountered in the interclass competition.

With the greetings over with, Frans said, "Let's head inside and choose some suitable missions."

The others nodded while Ain moved his gaze towards the rover. A dedicated parking space was nearby, but Frans didn't seem to care. "Can we leave it here?"

Just as he was about to ask, Frans, who was right beside the rover, placed his hand atop it. With a faint spirit energy fluctuation, the rover suddenly vanished.

At the sight of this, Hugo’s mouth gaped at the nonchalant Frans, failing to synergize his thoughts and words.

Paula didn't seem surprised. This was a common sight to her.

The nearby spirit tamers looked over once again, their gazes carrying hints of envy, jealousy, and desire this time. A Rioter-T8 rover wasn't much, but a spatial storage device capable of storing it was.

Ain expected Frans to possess a storage ring, but it was unexpected of him to store a rover within. As he sensed the surrounding stares, Ain sighed internally, reflecting on his advice to keep a low profile.

Frans didn't seem to notice the stares and led the way into the Spirit Tamer Association.

With Ain's help, the group quickly familiarized themselves with the layout and used the handheld devices to browse various missions. Before long, they jointly agreed on a few missions and strode towards the Duskfield Forest.

Amidst the bustling crowd, after an inspection, the group passed Forest Gate and left the city.

"Ain, should we use the rover to travel?" Frans asked as he observed the surrounding vehicles.

Hugo smiled widely at the prospect of riding the rover and said, "Now that'll feel like a proper adventure."

"It should be the opposite, right? Traversing through the forest, facing dangers, and gathering resources seems more like an adventure," Paula disagreed.

"Yeah, but we'll do that regardless when we get there," Hugo added.

As they argued, Ain considered for a second before replying, "Sure, but let's walk a little further from the gate first."

He didn't explain why and gestured to set off.

Although curious, the group didn't question his suggestion and continued on foot. The wide stone road extended off into the distance, surrounded by grass and shrubbery.

Halfway through, the road split off into smaller paths, and the group continued on with some light-hearted conversations.

The chilly morning air and the bright sun above dispelled some of their nervousness. After all, except for Ain, this was their first trip outside the city.

Ain initially wondered whether Frans' family would object to this trip, but that wasn't the case. According to Frans, his family advocated independence on their members' paths as spirit tamers. Of course, sufficient resources were still allocated, allowing them to excel.

Conversely, Paula's family would've raised objections, but Frans' presence in the group served to ease them. Paula also descended from an affluent family, almost comparable the Vaughan family, one of the three major families in Duskfield City.

The two families were on good terms, thus the childhood friendship between the two.

As they conversed, Ain observed the now-vacant surroundings and said, "We can use the rover now."

Hearing this, the group paused as Frans removed the rover from his storage ring. Hugo observed the process with some curiosity, as Paula finally asked, "Ain, why did we wait until now to use the rover?"

Ain noted the familiar holographic interface on Frans' storage ring as he replied, "To avoid drawing unwanted attention. The rover itself isn't eye-catching, but the storage ring can lead to potential danger."

There was a hint of warning in his voice, and the three seriously considered his words.

As he stated, a storage ring's value far surpassed that of a rover. Frans, Paula, and even Hugo were aware of this fact. They understood Ain's insinuation, but Paula still asked for confirmation, "What dangers?"

The rover appeared beside Frans as he also focused on Ain.

"Hostile spirit tamers. I'm sure you're aware of the news. Spirit tamer remains are commonly discovered within the Duskfield Forest. But what isn't reported is that only a few of them originate from accidents." Ain stated.

Hugo audibly gulped as Frans and Paula nodded in acknowledgment.

"I've heard similar news at home," Frans added.

"But we won't be that unlucky, right?" Hugo asked with some hope.

Ain thought back to his own ignorant reliance on such hope recently and shook his head.

"That's hard to say. During my first trip, I was ambushed by three spirit tamers. There were more such instances later on too."

Since it concerned their safety, he didn't plan to hide these facts. They served as a solemn warning to the group, especially with recent events concerning the Order of Blood Origin.

Hugo's eyes widened in shock as he hurriedly asked, "Are you alright, Ain?" However, soon after, he realized the redundancy of his words, but it led him to think further.

Frans and Paula were similarly shocked, especially after hearing Hugo's question.

Ain was evidently alright. Then those spirit tamers…

Ain guessed their thoughts, but he also trusted their judgment. Although it hadn't been long since he met Frans and Paula, by intuition, he was certain of their trustworthiness.

Silence ensued for a moment before Frans finally spoke up, "You're right. We need to be more careful."

Paula and Hugo nodded, reminding themselves of the same.

Despite their varying backgrounds, their ages were still similar. When had they experienced such an event? It might've appeared in conversations and stories, but the awareness only settled in when such a threat loomed over their own heads.

After concluding the conversation, the rover promptly took off, heading toward the Duskfield Forest.

Ain observed the interior of the rover alongside Hugo. The sensation was similar to a hoverbus, but only more compact, with only four seats.

As the rover continued forward, conversations sprouted again.

When the topic switched to the rover, Frans sheepishly explained that using the storage ring in public was his oversight. In truth, as Ain had advised, this "cheap" rover was his attempt at being low-key. Hugo simply rolled his eyes at that statement.

Soon, they entered the Duskfield Forest and stayed above the tree line, approaching their destination. Most spirit beasts in the periphery were weak, incapable of attacking a rover. The only potential threat was the flying spirit beasts, but this rover possessed the ability to outmaneuver them.

Ain noted that their speed was much faster than his fluxboard. The rover's inherent speed and the unobstructed path influenced this.

He glanced down as the trees rapidly flew past his vision. At the Spirit Tamer Association, they accepted a hunting mission, as well as numerous gathering missions. Moreover, there was a connection between these missions.

The Spirit Tamer Association categorized their missions into easy, medium, hard, and extreme. The gathering missions ranged from medium to hard, whereas the hunting mission was an extreme mission. Ain had never accepted an extreme mission before, as a team of Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamers was recommended to complete them.

Frans periodically referenced the holographic map display, ensuring their route. When he realized their current position, he said, "We're here."

The group observed their surroundings as the rover slowly landed in a glade. Ain was the first to disembark as he sensed their surroundings. Nox was already floating beside him, displaying its usual vigilance.

The rest followed behind, summoning their spirit pets as well.

Ace appeared beside Hugo before flying into the sky. With some instructions from Hugo, it began scouting their surroundings.

Paula's mechanical gauntlet, with its shining silver frame, attached to her right arm, ready for support.

The Brilliant Fae also floated beside Frans, occasionally casting a glance at Nox, while Frans stored the rover away.

At this moment, Ace completed his duty, and Hugo reported, "The surroundings are clear."

The rest acknowledged.

"How far are we?" Ain asked.

Frans pondered for a second before answering, "It should only take us twenty minutes on foot."

"Alright, let's move." Ain nodded, and the group began their short journey.

Although not the one who initiated the trip, Ain was ultimately elected as the leader due to his experience, and it was Frans who insisted the most.

While moving forward, Ace provided a constant stream of information, drastically improving their safety.

Ain was the first to take note of the effects of scouting, as they avoided several spirit beasts in their path.

Soon, thirty-five minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination. Frans' estimate turned out to be inaccurate, primarily due to their detours.