Ranger Team
Ranger Team
Although Cecilia tried to argue that she shouldn't head out alone even to scout, and that at least one more person should go along, Evelyn remained firm on her conditions, and the ash blonde could only helplessly agree in the end.
Even as she checked her spatial storage to confirm her preparations for the trip, Cecilia couldn't help but pout. "Little Eve won't compromise at all… You're really taking advantage of my sincerity, you know?"
The pink-haired girl only rolled her eyes. "Didn't I already compromise enough by letting you come along?"
The ash blonde had nothing to say to that, and could only go sulk in a corner while Amara made sure to drill some discipline into her little sister. After all, they couldn't really afford her playing around while in a dangerous zone, or it might just end up costing them dearly.
Of course, Vivian wasn't dumb, and also understood such a thing herself. But she could only bear her older sister's lecture silently, courtesy of being so naughty all the time while pretending to be ignorant.
In the end, however, she couldn't help but groan. "Big sis, if that forest is so annoying, isn't it better to burn it all down? I can do it, you know!"
The older redhead bonked Vivian with her fist, making her yelp in surprise. "Do you think it's so easy to burn down? Even if your cultivation method is of a superior grade, don't get ahead of yourself, understand?"
Vivian rubbed her head while grumbling. "I was obviously joking, kind of. Why hit me? That's not fair at all."
While the two redheads argued, Evelyn was also debating on whether she should keep Bree in her human form, or make her change into a puppy.
Of course, while her stats remained the same in both forms, and she wasn't in any state to fight during this expedition, both had their own advantages.
In human form, Bree would be able to easily communicate with others, and also be able to wear her grade two dress for protection. While in her puppy form, Evelyn would easily be able to carry her along on her shoulder, and also hide with her whenever required.
"Well, the dress only offers minor protection anyway, and it's not like Bree will gain much even if she fought in this state… She's already quite high level, after all, even if her stats are reduced right now."
Evelyn nodded to herself after deciding so, and instructed the golden-haired little girl to turn into a puppy and get on her shoulder.
Of course, no such debate was required when it came to Ruru, since her extremely tiny human form was hardly able to do anything be squeak pitifully. As it was, the only thing it could be good for was entertainment.
"Well, let's go."
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Apparently, there was even a service to forward a message to friends while leaving for the forbidden cities, though it did cost ten spirit stones to use, and the message could only be left at the first minor teleportation array.
Evelyn thought it was worth it to leave a letter that could be forwarded to the 'Green Leaf Villa', so that Amber wouldn't worry.
Of course, she only mentioned that she may not be attending the classes for the next few days. This way, the girl would most likely assume that she was with Aurora, and could focus on her own studies worry-free.
Cecilia, being Cecilia, had already paid the fee while Evelyn was still writing the letter, and Evelyn could only helplessly shake her head with a smile.
With the ash blonde's status as a prefect, the process of getting out of the academy and arriving at the southern forbidden city wasn't difficult at all. And from there, it would only take them a few minutes to enter the forest.
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Of course, while bringing Cecilia along came with its advantages, it also had its drawbacks.
"Please, Evelyn! You know, I've been waiting for so long just for this day!"
The pink-haired girl sighed as she gave her pleading friend a helpless look. "Isn't it a waste of time to go register at the ranger's guild at this moment?"
Cecilia could only hold Evelyn's hands and widen her warm brown eyes pitifully. "Please! I waited for you for so long, and didn't officially register into a team just so we can form our own. Now that we're going on our first expedition together, why not make our own official team? The ranger's guild is on the way to the forest, and it won't take us long at all, promise!"
In the end, Evelyn could only sigh and agree.
To Cecilia's credit, the ranger's guild really was on the way to the forest. And it seemed like the girl had already made some arrangements beforehand for whenever she needed to come in and register a team, because the receptionist at the desk just shook her head with a smile as she handed them a paper.
The black-haired woman chuckled. "So you have finally found some willing sacrifices, huh? It seems I shall be free from your torture from this day forth, Cecilia."
Cecilia made a hushing motion, afraid that her friends would get embarrassed by all the weird looks being thrown their way. "Don't be like that, Jenny! I only came by once a week to make sure the process hadn't changed, right?"
The receptionist rolled her eyes. "Yeah, once a week, every month, for the last three years! I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to actually register, or forever going to annoy me like this."
Cecilia rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Ehehehe…."
Much to Evelyn's relief, the registration form was actually extremely 'simple' to fill. She had been quite worried that it would be compulsory to share a lot of information with them, which she didn't feel comfortable doing.
After all, for her to be handing over anything that could be used against her, she would first have to weigh what advantages she could get. And if they weren't satisfactory, why would she ever do that?
Thankfully, they only needed to pour a little of their spirit power into the seals on the paper, and then they would be registered as a team. Although it seemed like increasing their rank would eventually require going through some tests and some additional processes.
The primary purpose of this registration was actually to designate a clear leader and make public the distribution of profits from any expeditions the team went on.
Cecilia had already marked herself as the leader when she handed the paper to Evelyn, making the pink-haired girl roll her eyes.
But since she didn't care about the ranger team thing anyway, she decided to just get it over with, and after pouring in one point of spirit power, passed it over to Amara. Of course, the Gilmore sisters followed her lead, and poured in their spirit power without even looking at the thing.
The ranger's guild didn't register beast companions or even spirit beasts, so even if Cecilia wanted, she couldn't include Ruru and Bree in the team. Of course, Evelyn could make Bree change into her human form, but that would be another unnecessary spectacle she was in no mood for.
After all four of them were registered, Cecilia handed the paper back to the receptionist with a grin.
The black-haired girl accepted the registration form, and started processing it right away. "Okay, five members, and the team name will be… seriously, Cecilia?"
The ash blonde rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Ehehe…"
The receptionist girl gave the other team members a skeptical look, but since the girls didn't seem to care, she just shrugged and marked it as accepted. "Fine… As you said before, I've marked it as a five-member small team for now, so you can add one more member to your team without requiring re-authentication from everyone."
Evelyn blinked in surprise. "Are you having some absurd dream that Aurora will actually accept being in your team, instantly boosting it up?"
Cecilia stuck out her tongue. "Nope. I just kept the slot for your friend. You know, the one with reddish-brown hair? Amber, wasn't it?"
The pink-haired girl nodded. "Alright. Although you'll need to be a lot stronger to bring her along."
"Oh?" Cecilia blinked curiously, wondering what that meant. An ability that could boost growth? Was there such a thing?
Evelyn smiled. "Don't worry, I'll explain it later."
Although she didn't think that a taunt skill was anything too rare, it still might be a bad idea to reveal it here in the ranger guild's hall. After all, if misused, Amber was the perfect 'bait' that every high-level team would rejoice to have to lure in all kinds of monsters.
The receptionist smiled. "Alright then, since Cecilia already cleared all the necessary requirements before, and is already a rank F ranger, the ranger team 'Cecilia and her Wifeys' is from now on an official F-rank team!"
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