I Have a Task Log

Perhaps because there hadn’t been many missions lately, the Elves never came by with a new task. For the next two days, Colin and his group had it pretty easy.

Unwilling to admit defeat, Ale played a few more games of dice. After suffering several crushing losses, she pretended the whole affair never happened. If anyone mentioned dice, she would just play deaf and dumb.

If anyone kept asking, the Half-Elf would just go straight to sleep, no matter what time it was.

That evening, Colin and his group had just returned to their cabin after eating at a cheaper tavern.

Before they even had a chance to sit down, an urgent knock sounded at the door.

"I guess we’ve got a job to do," Dorn yawned. "About time we got some work."

Kase rubbed his eyes. "What I’d rather know is how much we’re getting paid for all this. We’ve done a ton of work here."

As his companions spoke, Colin opened the wooden door.

Just as they expected, an anxious-looking Wood Elf was standing outside. The moment Colin opened a crack in the door, the Elf spoke urgently, "There is a very pressing mission, gentlemen, lady. Please, hurry and follow me. We’ll talk on the way."

"Then let’s go," Colin said.

The Wood Elf added, "Please bring your gear. This mission may take a long time."

Colin nodded, turning back to tell the others to grab their packs, then returned to the doorway.

Once he saw they were ready, the Wood Elf turned and led the way down the walkway.

Once they caught up, he began to explain, "The Dragon Worship Cult just launched sudden attacks on several villages. They all need reinforcements, and we’ve already sent out almost everyone we have."

You are needed to quickly reinforce one of the villages. After you’ve dealt with the monsters, please escort the surviving villagers to a neighboring village."

Just then, Ale, who was walking behind the others, asked out of the blue, "How serious is it?"

’The Half-Elf is usually so quiet,’ Colin thought. ’For her to speak up now, she must be worried.’

"We don’t know for sure yet, but the fact that the Dragon Worship Cult has dared to attack villages means it’s likely a very serious problem," the Wood Elf replied.

"We might get lost in the Supreme Forest," Colin quickly pointed out.

"A Pegasus Knight will give you a map in a moment. He will also be the one to bring you back," the Wood Elf said.

Colin nodded.

The group followed him at a quick pace to the Pegasus platform. As usual, the Pegasus Knight they had worked with on previous occasions was there, circling the platform on his Pegasus.

This time, he had brought four Pegasus.

Each Pegasus carried several bundles, which looked like they might be supplies for the villagers.

As Colin and his party approached, the Knight held out a map with a Signal Flare rolled inside. "This is a map of the southern region," he said. "Take a look on the way and plan your route. We’re on a tight schedule this time."

Colin quickly took the map and climbed onto the triangular net with the others.

They had barely settled in before the Pegasus took flight, pulling the triangular net up with it.

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[Task: Village Rescue]

[Rating: Not Started]

[Reward: Uncalculated]

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After glancing at the new task that had appeared in his Task Log, Colin spread the map open. The others immediately gathered around to examine it.

Various roads and villages were marked on the map in the Common Language. It was much more detailed than the reference maps found in books, though it was obvious that only a small section was shown—likely to prevent intelligence leaks.

The village they were headed to was located in the southwestern part of the Supreme Forest. A little farther southwest would put them near Moss Stone Village.

Along the way was a place called the Fog-Locked Rift.

Judging by the map, the rift was quite large, making it a rare and impressive landmark.

The group began to plan their route as they studied the map.

However, due to the potential for planar overlaps within the Supreme Forest, they could really only stick to the main roads that had been confirmed as safe, which made route planning a relatively simple affair.

After the Pegasus had flown a while longer, a massive rift did indeed appear in the Supreme Forest below them.

Colin looked down.

Both sides of the rift were overgrown with lush, green vegetation. Aside from the absence of giant trees, it didn’t look much different from the rest of the Supreme Forest.

The bottom of the rift was covered in a layer of white, which looked to be a dense fog.

Spanning the chasm above were several large bridges constructed from white, living wood.

’We’ll probably have to lead the villagers across these bridges to get them back to safety,’ Colin calculated silently.

The Pegasus flew onward, its wings beating without pause.

The distance to this mission was exceptionally far. The sun crawled slowly across the sky until it finally set.

They flew for a long time after nightfall before Colin and the others finally spotted an orange glow filtering out from deep within the forest ahead.

As the Pegasus drew nearer, they could gradually make out a village nestled in a forest clearing.

The village sat in a small clearing between several giant trees, looking as if it had been founded on the spot where another giant tree had died.

After flying into the vicinity of the black smoke, the Pegasus Knight in the lead began to chant a Spell.

Once the Casting was complete, he said, "Gentlemen and lady, just like before, I’ve cast [Feather Fall] on you. When the situation is resolved, just fire the Signal Flare... Good luck to you."

"Good luck to you as well."

The words had barely left his lips when the triangular net was released, and the group began to slowly descend.

As they descended, wind howled in their ears.

Using the orange light from the fires below, Colin peered through the thick black smoke before him, carefully assessing the situation on the ground.

It was a village, just as he’d thought. Most of the structures were semi-subterranean dwellings built into the sides of tree roots and earthen slopes, using only dead vines and clay as building materials.

Now, the largest buildings in the village were burning fiercely.

A number of figures were gathered in the center of the village, apparently trying to fight the fires and rescue the wounded.

Colin scanned the scene carefully but saw no sign of Kobolds or Cultists.

"Looks like the attack is over," Dorn said, drifting beside him.

Colin replied, "Looks like we got lucky. At least we don’t have to deal with that mess."

"Or unlucky," Ale muttered beside them.

The group slowly descended into the center of the village.

Just as they had seen from above, there were no enemies in the vicinity.

The villagers were busy rescuing the wounded and extinguishing the flames, and no one had time to bother with the strange people who had just dropped out of the sky.

"Let’s help with the fire," Colin said, then immediately ran toward the village well, the others following his lead.

In case any enemies were lying in ambush, he decided to hold off on summoning the Pegasus Knight until things had settled down.

As he ran, Colin gave orders. "Find a large basin or some buckets! Ale and I can use [Water Manipulation] to move the water quickly. Ale, you can also use the [Frost Ray] from your Magic Staff to fight the fire. As for any large-scale Range Magic, we have to confirm there are no survivors in the blaze before we use it."

Having given his orders, the group quickly sprang into action, joining the effort to fight the fire.