Azulus stood calmly at the agreed eting point, her oversized katana resting against the paved stones beside her.
She glanced toward Kivas and Samael the mont they stepped into view, and then gestured behind her with a slight tilt of the head.
"I managed to recruit three more," she announced. "Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Kivas replied. "The more the rrier."
Samael gave a simple nod in agreent.
Standing behind Azulus were three distinct individuals.
The first was a cloaked figure whose entire body seed to waver in form, as though made from compressed mist. His outline held, but his features were in constant flux, like vapor barely stitched together by will.
Despite his lack of a face, he gave a polite half-bow.
"Joyhan. Fog-borne, in a way. But in this world, I'm still considered a human," he said, voice airy and smooth, echoing faintly as if spoken from multiple directions at once. "F-grade, nice to et you."
"Kivas Chariot. I'm a new Void Hunter, nice to et you all!" She then pointed to Samael. "This is Samael, sa circumstances, but less sociable."
Samael rely smileD faintly, more so from Kivas' adorable attempt more than the joy of eting new people.
Next was a broad-shouldered man, his red skin marked with old scars that shimred slightly in the fading sunlight.
A single horn jutted out from the center of his forehead, curving slightly upward. His armor looked hand-forged and heavy, layered in mismatched plates reinforced by cracked bone. He gave a casual wave.
"Toriq. G-grade." he said with a deep voice, rough around the edges but friendly. "We're in the sa grade then. Hope we can get along."
"Let's do our best!" Kivas cheered, while Samael rely nodded.
The third was a young woman who kept herself partially behind the others, her arms crossed and gaze fixed on the ground. Her hair was a thick weave of dark mossy strands tied behind her neck.
A massive alligator tail dragged behind her, swaying slightly even when she didn't move.
"Beilan," she said curtly. "G-grade."
"Kivas Chariot, thanks for having ," Kivas said as curtly.
Azulus cleared her throat to bring everyone's attention. "Now that introductions are out of the way, let's begin the briefing."
"I wonder what will be the destination of our first expedition," Kivas said in a hushed tone. "Do you have an idea of what it will be?"
Samael smirked, "It is as clear as a day."
"We'll be raiding what's classified as a Xenorealm."
The group shifted slightly at the term, and Kivas leaned forward slightly with interest. Azulus turned toward her, tilting her head.
"Do you know what a Xenorealm is?" Azulus said, referring to Kivas and Samael since they were new in this industry.
"I do," Samael said imdiately, raising a hand, "and I know everything about it." She turned and pointed at Kivas without looking. "She doesn't."
Kivas shrugged.
Azulus nodded, and began kindly explaining, "A Xenorealm is a separate dinsion or world that operates on laws and foundations foreign to Fathomi. Think of it as a bubble of alien reality that sohow beca tethered here...
"The reason for the tethering is unknown, but a natural entrance to a Xenorealm is created from ti to ti due to the instability of Fathomi's core of existence.
"But if you're wondering if it is safe to enter a domain of unknown law and rule of existence, then don't be afraid. If we enter a Xenorealm through a direct entrance that conjoin these two worlds together, Fathom's rules and influence will also perate the foreign world, allowing us to traverse and explore it."
Azulus held up her Void Hunter Tag. Thin lines of silver light spiraled from her fingers, brushing through the air until they connected to the tags held by each mber of the party.
"Coordinates transmitted. Everyone can attune to your tags to check on the coordinates I sent."
Kivas held her tag up as it vibrated faintly, a new resonance spiraling through her palm.
Her vision blurred slightly as the coordinates embedded themselves into the tag's runic core, entering Kivas' mind and soul and presenting itself like so sort of a personal, spiritual, GPS.
"Woah, this is interesting."
"This sa function," Azulus added, glancing at Kivas, "can be used to locate nearby Void Hunter Guild or Chapters. Keep that in mind."
Even then, sothing still feel conjoined in the reasoning of this expedition.
Kivas raised her hand. "Why are we going into a dangerous unstable place, again? What's the reward?"
Azulus t her gaze. "Rember when I said that the phenonon and rules that exist in Fathomi will also happen to the Xenorealm? This includes the inclusion of Curios."
"Ah!"
Azulus continued, "Not only that, when Fathomi's influence touches a foreign world, it creates dissonance. That dissonance leads to improbable outcos. Events that shouldn't happen—do.
"One of those outcos is an increased probability of high-tier Curios spawning naturally. This also doesn't include the amount of exotic objects and material.
"Items of great power, unusual structure, and impossible utility can be harvested from within Xenorealms. It's high risk, high reward." Azulus gave Kivas an encouraging thumbs up.
Beilan raised her hand, her expression still closed off. "How do we divide the loot?"
"Everything we bring out is pooled," Azulus replied. "Then distributed based on rit and contribution. No exceptions unless otherwise agreed before we begin. I believe fairness is best decided by those who risked their lives."
Toriq gave a single nod of approval. Joyhan gave a thumbs-up gesture with one of his swirling hands.
"No other questions?" Azulus asked, scanning the group.
No one spoke.
Azulus then continued once again, "This particular Xenorealm is new. The intel hasn't reached the larger channels yet. That ans we have a first-entry advantage. Untouched space. Unclaid loot. Virgin terrain.
"But it also ans no safety net. If sothing goes wrong, we cannot request help. The Karasu Association, Solvish Chapter, or even basic tag connectivity might fail inside."
"That's terrifying," Kivas muttered, half to herself.
"Exciting," Joyhan whispered cheerfully.
Kivas glanced at Samael, lowering her voice. "The Void Hunter Tag has more functionality than I expected."
Samael tapped her tag gently. "A marvel of collective design. Humanity's ingenuity is known to have no bound, especially when death is constant."
Azulus then clasped her hands. "You have ten minutes to prepare. Restock. Eat. Trade. I'll wait at the Solvish gate."
She then blinked left and right, teleporting and leaving afterimages like back then.
The three others began dispersing without much communication, minding for their own supplies and overall preparation.
Left standing in the now-quiet square, Kivas turned to Samael. "We're not prepping?"
"We're already prepared."
Kivas pursed her lips. "Are you sure?"
"I've been through Xenorealms before," Samael replied calmly. "Not all, but many. Enough to know what patterns to expect, and which ones never repeat."
Kivas took a breath, let her thoughts slow, and nodded. "That helps."
Samael's gaze softened slightly. "It should."
"I trust you more than anything in this world as of now, you know?"
"And I plan to maintain that status quo."
"You don't want to trust others more than you?"
"How would you feel if your adorable pet began to latch on to others instead of their owner?"
"I'm not a pet."
"To , you are," Samael chuckled, albeit with a pretty scary smile.
"If that's the case, then how co you made hunt for food myself?" Kivas pouted.
"That's called training."
"You really are firm in this whole pet-play shenanigans, huh."
The quiet was peaceful for a mont longer. Then the distant bell of the gate chid, signaling the passage of the final minute.
Together, Kivas and Samael walked through the familiar paths back toward the outer edge. As they neared the massive gate and walls lined with ballistae, they spotted Azulus waiting patiently.
To one side, Voille stood beside a pile of stacked crates, arms folded.
When they spotted the two of them, their eye sockets shimred briefly.
"Vagabonds," they said in a low tone, waving their hand.
Kivas replied with a wave of her own.
While waiting for the other three, Kivas and Samael inford Voille of their thoughts and experience within the Solvish Keep for the past few hours. From their registration to the Solvish Chapter, getting recruited by Azulus, and to the present mont.
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