Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

Vividus led them over to the final group to join them, Thera elbowing him the moment she saw one of the party with Ben immediately understanding why. Having both blue skin and silver eyes, it was another one of Yuzu’s race, meaning he wasn’t going to be the only summoned on that expedition.

Ben felt that man’s eyes on him in return, noticing that same fact although he tried to ignore it. They’d be working together for a bit it seemed but he had no reason to try and get close, even if what he was seeing made him curious.

A wielder of both space and death magic, he was the only one in his party of five to have any awakened skills, meaning the others with him seemed to have been pulled along for the quest because of him alone.

Which wasn’t to say they were bad either. All of them held high levels of first-tier skills that made them a decent match and provided good party coverage as far as he could see it, with only one other point drawing his attention. The rest of the party was entirely female.

While nothing against that, Ben was reminded of Xilly’s reaction to both Yuzu’s wedding and the thought that he might have been sent to woo her and Nati, seeming firmly against anything less than monogamy in a way she seemed to imply was the standard for their race with memories he’d seen in her head more or less confirming it. Yet from the minds he was peeking into, he could tell that there was some sort of physical or romantic element between the party that went beyond any common friendship, telling him that Yuzu alone wasn’t the only one willing to buck her people’s customs to take what she wanted.

In the end though, it didn’t matter. As soon as Vividus began addressing them he gave her his full attention for whatever instruction they were to receive.

“Good, now that you’re all here, let’s begin. I’ll make this short, my chimera corp will be fighting the demons to their fullest ability while the rest of you observe and compare how they fare against what you’d expect of any other force. You may of course step in to assist in the event the situation looks too dangerous but otherwise be as hands-off as possible. With that said, Fone here will be in charge of directing you all. If there’s any issues, you’re all to turn to him and listen to his instructions.”

She nodded to the man she’d been talking to when they’d arrived, a three-eyed oni who Ben actually recognized as someone he and Thera had helped recently, being a holder of both an awakened mace wielding as well as an awakened lightning magic who’d received his own homunculi to use in his training, not that he seemed to have recognized them. There was no sign of those clones around either, leaving him to assume he’d chosen to leave them behind given the details of their quest. Still, he looked older than anyone else and likely had the experience to back up his current position as leader and neither he nor the rest were going to argue it, least of all to their current employer as she went on.

“As for where you’ll be going, Fone will be directing the space mage but given you’ll be going after five moving swarms, if for whatever reason you can’t find one of the groups then so be it but in general I’d prefer you to search the best you can to claim whatever results are available. With all of that said, I have my own work to do so I’ll let you all be on your way. When you’re done simply submit your reports to whatever guild is convenient, though if it could be one on the gate network that would be preferable. From here I’ll yield the floor.”

Saying all she’d needed to, Vividus walked away without looking back, leaving things to Fone as he looked around them.

“Alright, you all heard the boss so I expect us to work together for the next couple days, any personal issues you might have or might spring up in that time can be left until our work is done. For now though, I’d like an idea of what we’re working with while we’re together so if everyone could at least give their names and key skills so we can know how we can rely on one another should an emergency crop up. Let's start with you.”

He nodded to Thera, leaving her to speak up.

“Thera, with awakened life, earth, dark, and non-affinity magics, though it's the first two I’m most proficient in.”

“And I trust whatever issue you have with our quest issuer won’t affect our work or ability to work together.”

“It won’t. Finding it was her was an unfortunate shock but I’m able to be professional otherwise.”

Fone nodded, accepting the answer and turning to Ben next. “And yourself?”

That brought the question of how much Ben wanted to say to people he’d never work with again once the quest was done, ending on only the few skills he thought might matter.

“Hey, I’m Ben, with an awakened crafting, enchanting, and material manipulation.”

The answer got him a curious look, with Fone not outright dismissing the use of his first two skills, even if he chose to focus on the final.

“I’m not familiar with material manipulation, does it have any combat applications?”

“It’s a non-affinitied magic skill,” Ben explained, materializing a blank book for emphasis. “It can be used for what it says in the name, manipulating materials, up to and including using it for materialization. Should I need to fight at all I’ll be able to hold my own, don’t worry.”

Fone nodded once more, looking satisfied as he turned to the rest, with the other summoned speaking first.

“Pato, with a space and death magic, but I know I was brought on mainly for the first. Still, I’ll be able to get us around without any issues and if it comes to a fight I can play my part.”

“Good, and I believe I heard you were the only member of your party with an awakened skill, correct?”

“That’s right but the rest are fully competent. More so than myself in many cases.”

“I have no intention of discounting them for whatever skills they have, I just wished to be clear for the other two. We all need a decent understanding of one another to ensure this goes smoothly. Now, if you all would?”

“Galda and specialized in archery and tracking,” The first one with at least a partially elven heritage said while the others spoke up as well.

“Buwth, with a focus on spearsmanship,” A Gorgon woman told them, that fact being plain enough from the weapon she held

“Twee, and a water mage,” The third woman stated, by all appearance looking like they were a cross between a jötunn and an aquatic race of some sort, with the height and silvery-white hair of the first while also possessing gills along her neck, telling Ben she was likely semi-aquatic and made him wonder what the story was there.

He also couldn’t help but notice the brace on her arm to control the passive ice magic she possessed from one of her paternal races but ignored it to focus instead on the final member of that party, being part of a race he couldn’t identify but undoubtedly left her with some complex bloodline of various peoples, leaving her bald with what he’d describe as sickly pale skin if he was seeing it on his own race, along with eyes akin to Thera or Pato’s, only a solid red as she gave her answer.

He already knew what she had from peeking at her status though and it couldn’t help but draw his curiosity as she spoke up.

“Azeezol, with my main skills being corpse song and unarmed combat, though the first is my specialty.”

Once more Fone asked for clarification, the new skill a mystery to him, even if Ben had heard of it before.

“Corpse song?”

“A non-affinitied branch that lets me see the life of the dead I find,” She clarified. “Although it needs to be recent, anything older than a few days is too much for me.”

It was a skill that Zandale possessed too but that was Ben’s first time meeting a natural holder of it, leaving him to appraise the group. A frontline fighter, a tracker, someone who seemed to be able to help in both of those two as well, with the backline in the form of two mages and the tracker having their bow. In all it was a balanced group, surely able to handle most quests thrown their way and it made him interested to see if he’d get a chance to watch how they’d operate, though he kept his expectations in check. Other than the fact that it seemed Pato was acting as their transport, that group was there for the same reason as he was and with introductions made it seemed it was time to get started.

Satisfied now that they had a grasp of what they could expect from each other, Fone turned to the people they’d been sent to watch, speaking up for all of them.

“Well be heading out now so keep it orderly when the portal opens. Pato, we’ll be heading north for the first while.”

With a nod, the otherworlder did as he was asked, tearing open a hole in space and letting the group go through.