"So...what do you think I should do?" I inquired with a sigh.

"Hmph, how should I know?" Huffed Prysm in response, her back turned to me.

It’s the 6th of December, 2015, the morning after my date with Rosary. She’d woken up pretty early, like at the buttcrack of dawn, and headed out, after waking me to let me know that she was leaving.

I then let Prysm out of my Pocket Dimension, who immediately rushed for the bathroom. She’d refrained from using the bucket I’d given her, so she’d been holding it in all night. I suppose it’s only fair that she’s moody after all that, I’ll let her vent. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

I’d also informed her about Rosary, specifically about how she wants to tag along with me to Kaygee Town. I figured getting her perspective and opinion on it would be helpful, but she just clammed up sullenly.

"By the way, I’ll be joining in on a quest tonight, it could get pretty late, so...you should probably stay in the room instead of my Pocket Dimension. Use Teleportation if anyone tries to enter the room, then wait for a bit and teleport back here," I advised her.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," She grumbled, letting out another huff.

It’s probably for the best if I try to improve her mood a bit before I head out for the quest. It’s still a few hours away, but I do have to head to the Guild in a couple of hours, since the Adventurers involved are going to be discussing strategy.

How do I appease her, at least a little bit? Maybe a heartfelt apology? Nah, no way...I already apologized, and I’d rather not do so again, especially a more sappy one.

"Hey, uh...," I began, as I awkwardly reached over and patted her head, "To make up for last night, I’ll grant you any request you make of me...provided it’s realistic, of course."

"Hm? You’ll do anything I ask?" She responded, glancing back at me slightly with the corner of her eye.

"Sure, so long as it’s something I can do," I nodded, feeling a slight sense of dread at what her request might be.

I have no idea what she might ask for, here’s hoping it’s something doable.

"I can’t think of anything right now. I’ll think about it and let you know once I have something in mind," She replied, after mulling it over, "Is that okay?"

"Sure, that’s fine," I responded with a thumbs up.

Okay, good, she seems to be in a much better mood already. I just hope that whatever she comes up with to request of me isn’t too difficult or expensive. I have no clue what she might ask for, and that makes me kinda nervous...

...

"Good, you’re here. We were just about to begin strategizing," Rosary greeted me, as I entered the Guild.

"Hey, Larrk, it’s been a while! It’s good to see you again. You’ve gotten taller," Grinned Rayven, waving as he spotted me.

"Yeah, good to see you too. You look...pretty much the same as you did last time," I replied wryly.

It was around 12 PM right now, and I’d just arrived at the Guild to join the strategy meeting for the quest to catch the culprit behind the Monster outbreaks around this town.

Quite a lot of Adventurers were here, looking pretty eager and determined to accomplish this quest. After all, this issue has been plaguing them for years now, and now that they’ve found out that it’s been caused by someone’s actions, they have a target to focus all their built up frustrations on.

The meeting then began, starting with catching everyone up on the information that’s been compiled regarding this case. There are a total of six possible locations in which the next Disastrous Grade Monster could appear, and all the Adventurers who are involved in this will be split into six teams.

Each team will scout one of the potential areas in which the Monster could appear, and the teams will consist of five to six Adventurers each. I was added to Rosary’s team, which would be scouting the most likely location for the Monster’s appearance.

Being in a team of five is a few too many people for my liking, it’s gonna be hard to have the pleasure of torturing the culprit at my leisure with so many other people involved.

We then began getting into the strategy of capturing the culprit, and having surmised that the target has some sort of Skill that lets them escape, each team was given a certain Magic Item.

Specifically, a device that creates a barrier which blocks the use of Skills. However, it can only do so for three minutes, and it’s single use. It’s also really expensive and has a low demand as a result, so the Guild didn’t have many to spare, which meant that each team only got one each.

Whichever team is at the location where the culprit appears will then activate the Magic Item, before restraining and incapacitating the target. Gotta say, I’m kinda disappointed...this strategy is pretty solid, but it’s boring.

If this person really is a Noble, I want to torture and interrogate them, and then kill them brutally. But I guess it can’t be helped, I’ll cooperate with the plan and play my part. Hm, maybe I can ask them to give me a few minutes to do my thing after we restrain the target.

Speaking of which, once we incapacitate the target, we’ll place another Magic Item on them, handcuffs that block the flow of Mana, as well as prevent the wearer from using their Skills or manifesting their Soul Weapon.

They keep the wearer powerless for twenty-four hours, at which point they’ll stop working. Yeah, there are such handcuffs that work indefinitely, but they’re so expensive that only Nobles can afford them.

Still though...twenty-four hours is plenty of time. As for how to go about restraining the culprit, that’ll be upto each individual team to strategize on their own.

With all that settled, the teams then split up to each discuss a strategy to go with. I sat down at a table with Rosary and three other Adventurers, all of whom I have no idea about what they’re capable of.

"Okay, let’s get right to it and settle on a solid plan quickly, so that we’ll have plenty of time to fine tune it. I strongly suggest we keep things as simple as possible, the more complex our plan is, the more likely it is that things won’t go according to plan," Remarked Rosary, cutting right to the chase.

"I suggest we all hide in different spots, and if the culprit shows up and we activate the Magic Item, we should have multiple options for how to restrain him. For starters, your Bind Skill and my whip should be pretty good options," I surmised, before adding as I realized, "Wait, never mind...Skills won’t work once we activate the Magic Item and the barrier forms. I can definitely restrain a person with my whip, but we’re gonna need a backup option, just in case."

"Hm, yes, I agree. The paralyzing effect of my Soul Weapon claws will work, but since it requires me to be at close range and then inflict direct physical damage, that should be our last resort. We know absolutely nothing about what this person is capable of, so attacking from a distance, while in hiding, should be the way to go," Replied Rosary with a nod.

"Uh, excuse me...my Soul Weapon can restrain people too. It’s a cannon that shoots out sticky globs, you can break free of it, but it takes a lot of effort," Spoke up one of the other Adventurers.

"Yes, that does sound like it could work...okay, then you’ll try to restrain the target’s feet by firing your Soul Weapon at him. Larrk, you try and restrain their arms and torso after that. Does that sound feasible?" Suggested Rosary, looking around at us.

"Sure, works for me," I replied affirmatively, as the Adventurer who’d suggested using his Soul Weapon nodded as well.

"Um, what about us, what should we do?" Inquired one of the other Adventurers, gesturing to herself and the other one who hadn’t been given a role, another female Adventurer.

"Well, nothing if we successfully restrain the target as planned. If it goes as planned, I’ll try to sneak up on them from their blind spot, paralyze and then knock them out. But if that fails, then our only option is to use force. The two of you focus on making sure you remain undetected at that point, after which, attack him from a distance.

If you can’t use Spells or any ranged attacks with your Skills or Soul Weapons, we’ll get some guns or crossbows you can use," Responded Rosary, after mulling it over, before adding, "Alright, our plan has taken shape decently so far, now it’s time to fine tune it. Let’s keep exchanging ideas and improving our plan until we’re satisfied..."

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP