Erith opened and closed her mouth several times, failing to form any words.

  “What do we do? We have two months before the deadline, and there is no way we could get another person to the verge of ascension before then.” Ray said, pacing back and forth while holding his chin in thought.

  Vaelora smiled. “You don’t need me for that.”

  “What!?” Ray and Erith shouted in tandem.

  “Erith, you've grown into a powerful warrior, one that I am proud to call my daughter, and Ray, you managed to defeat Draven in a one-on-one fight, something even your father never managed to do.”

  Erith blushed and turned away.

  “I only won that fight because you had already forced him to waste most of his resources!”

  “You have two months to gain levels, and I'm not just giving up. I will do everything I can to try and fix this, but I need you two to pave a path forward even if that does not happen.”

  Ray glanced at Erith, seeing determination filling her eyes. He smiled and nodded. “We will do what we have to.”

  They chatted for a while longer before Ray and Erith decided to go and get some much-needed rest, knowing that they knew Vaelora would be okay.

  They awoke well before the sun rose the next day. They made their way through the camp, only stopping once for Ray to give Vaelora an alarm stone he had made and mark her tent as a portal location in case that elder or anyone else tried something while they were hunting. They walked through the forest looking for any signs of the horde, but still did not find any.

  “Should we try back at the Ashrend clan?” Ray asked.

  Erith shrugged. “It's worth a shot.”

  Ray created a portal near where they had fought Ren, and they stepped through. They continued moving through the forest, walking past the collapsed wall and further into the village. There was again no sign of any part of the horde, and the stench of death and decay hit Ray’s nose. They walked into a clearing and finally got a good look at what was left of the new village.

  Rubble marred the landscape, and it looked like something giant had flattened almost the entire area. Dark reddish brown patches covered the large chunks of rock, and broken wood planks covered the ground.

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  “I don’t think we are going to find anything useful here,” Ray said with a troubled expression.

  Erith nodded and turned back the way they had come from. “Let’s see if we can find the direction they went in,” she said with a catch in her voice.

  Ray took one last look and followed her out of the ruined village. They searched for several more hours but still couldn't find anything.

  “Where the hell did they go?” Ray muttered.

  “Should we check if the monster hunters guild has any jobs?”

  “That's a Good idea. We need to do something to get more levels, and we should be able to take on more challenging jobs now.”

  He opened a new gateway just outside the castle in Promesses Echo and stepped through. They made their way to the small building and went inside.

  “Hey Iris,” Erith called with a wave.

  “Hmm,” the white-haired scale kin poked her head out from behind a large stack of papers. “Oh, hey Erith, hi Ray. It's been a while. What can I help you with today?”

  “We are looking to see if any jobs are open for adventures in the level 70 - 80 range.”

  Iris’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t I finding you two a level 20 - 30 job just a month or so ago?”

  “A lot has happened since the,” Ray said.

  “Mmhmm, well, I will have to double-check to make sure you are qualified, but if you are, you came at the right time. We have had a large influx of higher-level jobs recently, and there are not enough hunters to take them on.”

  Ray nodded and stepped forward, releasing a small portion of his aura. “Will this suffice as proof?”

  Her eyes grew even wider. “Y-Yes, let me show you what's available,” she said quickly, sorting through her stack of papers. Ahah, here we go. Please look these over and let me know if any of them interest you.”

  Ray held the parchment so he and Erith could both see. There was a wide variety of jobs, but none of them jumped out at him until he read on near the bottom.

  A large pack of blood crawlers has been spotted near the edge of the Carinthia forest.

  Immediate help requested

  Payment will be discussed when you arrive

  Wanted adventurers level 70 - 80

  “What do you think of this one?” Ray asked, pointing the listing out to Erith.

  “Sounds like I could work, but what is a blood crawler?”

  “They are nasty little things that spawn if a large amount of spilled blood is left to fester for too long. I could give you their information pamphlet if that is the one you decide to take,” Iris said.

  Erith nodded. “I think we will take that one. If you could give us that pamphlet.”

  “Right away.” Iris stepped into a back room and emerged with a small book several seconds later. “Here you are, and good luck!”

  “Thanks,” Erith and Ray said before leaving the guild.

  Another gate opened, bringing them to a place close to the forest's edge. They walked for another two hours, and as the sun slowly crested over the horizon, they approached their destination. A strange smell hit them before the small town came completely into view. It was a sickly sweet scent that was almost overpowering.

  As they came closer, they started to notice something else strange. The vegetation of the plains and forest had begun to decay. The first building finally came close enough for them to make out in the growing night. Something caught the corner of Ray’s eye, and he signaled for Erith to stop as he moved closer to the wall. He saw a strange red ooze running down it.

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  Bonus chapter on Saturday covering Chio and Nevalla's journey, and Sunday finishing Kai's story.