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nLying back onto his immersion chair, Eldrain thought of what he had learned. Just as he had thought he would be safe to play the game, a new problem had arisen. Nonetheless, he did not plan on quitting, rather he planned on getting stronger.

nLogging in he found himself under the tree, the memories from the haircutting flashing in his mind and causing him to blush whilst smiling. That was nice, I should let her do that every time. Eldrian thought, his hands combing through his hair. Determined to next time try and focus less on spells.

nWith that thought he also looked at the sun, late to rise. Clearly it was becoming winter, the cold morning air and the sparkling grass confirming this. It was not yet at the point where the grass would freeze overnight. Staring at the dew he wondered just how cold it would become.

nThe summer, or probably autumn, he had entered the game in had had mild weather. Rain had also been mostly absent, causing him to also wonder what type of rainfall this land expected.

nFor a few more seconds this thought process continued, Eldrian cleared his mind and told himself to focus. More than ever he had to grow stronger, fast. He had no idea how soon the enemies would act.

nWith that thought, Eldrian wondered if he should ignore trying to figure out wind magic, and after some debate, he realized he needed to at least accomplish that method. Hence he had to practice it nonetheless, and doing so with the wind spell will accomplish two tasks.

nSo he did, he started out with just using Mana Examination. Soon mixing in Tier 0 spells, even going so far as to double cast the Tier 0 spells. This placed a great deal of strain on his mind, which Eldrian pushed through.

nHe continued with this for the next few hours, after which he took a break by taking out his spear and practicing. Using the tree as a dummy and soon destroying it, causing Eldrian to quickly run away from the scene.

nSheesh, can't believe I cut the entire tree so quickly. He complained while looking at the wooden spear. His mind not willing to accept that this wood acted better than any axe he had used before, IRL.

nNot that he had really tried cutting the tree back then, nor was he nearly as strong. Still, the astonishment remained.

nHeading to the gate, Eldrian determined that he couldn't do this in the fort. He also didn't want to practice with another spear, he wanted to become completely used to Aoidos.

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"Halt,

" One of the centaur guards shouted at him. After some back and forth, Eldrian got them to let him out after letting them use Observe. His being a Chosen shocking them, but his title doing more than that. While they didn't care much for what his title meant, the ability to gain it meant a great deal.

nOutside Eldrian quickly rushed to the forest, not planning to go far into it at all. He started using all the trees as targets. Dancing through them and trying to use both blades of his spear to their best ability.

nWhile at it he would also weave in magic, careful of fire, but the rest free game. Eldrian even used Thera and Anthisma on the trees, pretending that they were undead. His spells actually making the tree survive just a few minutes longer.

nFrom the right, duck! Strike, roll, needle, thrust. Jump, from the back! Eldrian's mind spun as he envisioned himself surrounded by beasts and undead alike. All trying to kill him, forcing him to dance, jump, and even fall to avoid the imaginary attacks.

nAfter two hours Eldrian finally decided it was enough, having racked up level 3 and level 4 fatigue and magic fatigue respectively. Sitting back he watched his work, a small clearing having been made in the forest. Nearly twenty meters in diameter.

nWith that done he headed back, constantly using Mana Examination as he did. It was important to keep active while walking, seeing as the walk back to the town inside the fort took nearly an hour.

nUpon arriving Eldrian urgently searched for food, then met with Vivian and sparred against her. After which they would go out to eat. So he continued to spend the following three days, managing by the third to use Tier 1 spells with Mana Examination.

nThis was a massive milestone, and Eldrian was overjoyed. Unfortunately at that time he also had to go and join Pelaros for the mission. Hence he couldn't start experimenting.

nStill, he felt much better than before. While the training wasn't conventional, he felt it had worked really well. His ability to quickly react and adapt had improved, often envisioning the hardest fights he had been in during his sessions in the forest.

nReplying them in his mind as he devastated the forest. Eldrian had even managed to nearly double-cast Frost Needle. He could, if he gave up control over one of the spells. However that felt like taking a step back to him, so for now he didn't.

nBy now his training ground was even visible from the walls. The guards having linked it to him as soon as they saw him returning covered in what seemed like sawdust. They called him the woodcutter, however, none of them dared underestimate his determination.

nSome of them had gone out during their breaks in curiosity, shocked when they saw his actions. What shocked them the most was his accuracy with his spells. Mid jump, fall, dodge, he would send it out.

nLetting his body block the view of his target tree, the spell flying as soon as its line of flight was open. Making it near impossible to predict and dodge, compared to normal casting where you would see the spell forming.

nWhile the guards were all much stronger than Eldrian on paper, none of those who saw his actions thought they'd fare much better than the trees.

n...

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"Haru!

" Evale shouted as Eldrian made his way through the mass of people gathered at the square. Unlike with their previous expedition, this time an entire army was seemingly moving out.

nHearing the shout and seeing the twins standing in a somewhat open area, Eldrian headed over. Ignoring the greetings and directly asking if they were setting out already. While it wasn't late, it was already midday.

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"Yes, Pelaros isn't planning on scouting anymore. At least not from the start, we are going to advance into the forest, clearing all the undead we find.

" Evale started replying, Evules taking over after.

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"He wants to ensure that our backs are safe, especially now that we know they are using the caves created by local animals and monsters.

"

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"Right, as such we are going to firstly check the entire area surrounding the fort, and only then start moving out.

" Evale ended whilst looking at everyone present. They were going to set out with what was considered a regiment, just shy of 2000 people. All of whom were at least Tier 5.

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"Won't that take really long?

" Eldrian questioned, to which he got an obvious answer.

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"Of course it will, and the longer it takes the more the corruption will spread. But Pelaros was adamant in ensuring that the area behind us is safe.

"

nHearing this Eldrian wondered just what Pelaros was planning, though he didn't need to wait long. Pelaros soon came out of the keep, standing atop the stairs he looked over everyone.

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"Right, you all know the general plan. We will spread out in search of all the nearby caves and cabins. If you find one inhabited, don't enter. Relay the information back, a special squad will deal with them.

"

nWith that said Pelaros turned into his centaur form midst descending the stairs, rushing towards the Northern gate. With him most of those in the square also rushed, roughly dividing themselves into three parts. Each going for one of the gates.

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"Right, we should also get a move on,

" Evale said as she watched everyone scattering.

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"Right, Pelaros asked to meet us later in the day, so let's go so long,

" Evules mumbled, Eldrian following along since he had no idea what else he was supposed to do.

nIt was one of the things that were extremely strange about quests in ANW. Especially ones that included a vast amount of people, they didn't feel much like quests. He wasn't the focus, but rather just a small participant. Heck, he felt he didn't even need to partake this soon.

nFollowing along Evale and Evules made sure to not go too fast for Eldrian. Upon exiting the fort Eldrian looked around and was shocked to already see no one else nearby.

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"They are all rushing since finding an inhabited cave or cabin will net them a reward. Since they don't even need to clear it, everyone feels it is free money.

" Evale explained, causing Eldrian to frown.

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"Who is part of the mission?

" He asked, finding such a method not seemly for an army.

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"Mostly Adventurers, that is why we had waited for a week since Pelaros's arrival. He had sent a message back to Kynigo, with a mission with crazy rewards. Unlike last time the requirements were also much looser, anyone over Tier 5 could join.

"

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"The mission was even posted in other cities, hence quite a lot of people came,

" Evules added, Evale herself shocked by this news. Doing so was certainly not cheap, since most people would have to teleport over.

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"Then what is our part?

" Eldrian asked, truly wondering just what he was supposed to do.

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"We are the special squad, naturally,

" Evules replied with a slight smile, causing Eldrian to smile and sigh almost simultaneously.

nHe was half happy, since it should mean he could get some more practical practice. However, he assumed that the squad would be insanely strong. Hence he would likely just be following and observing.

nRight, I can at least claim some XP. Just need to cast Anthisma on as many of the squad as I can. Eldrian thought, thinking back to the night raid and how effective that method had been in grinding XP back then. This significantly increases his outlook on the mission.

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