Team Player

[Mission Report]

[Completed an Objective. +20 Experience]

[Priority Objective Completed. +450 Experience]

[Additional Objective Completed +50 Experience]

[All Objectives Complete +80 Experience]

She nodded at the words impatiently. It almost felt like cheating, but progress was progress.

[Current Portal Status: Stable, Magic Level Slowly Increasing]

[Current Portal Level: D3]

[Local Area Population: 1 D rank, 5 E ranks]

There were no more Skill updates; her efforts hadn't even merited a single announcement, now that she thought about it. She tried not to feel sour about it as she let the light embrace her…

She left the portal and was rewarded with the sight of Tollworth, clipboard in hand, already scurrying towards her. His face was pinched with irritation. "Surveyor Morrison, I need to speak with you."

Alex raised an eyebrow. She wondered how exactly Clara and Joanna had managed to avoid the man, or if they had just foisted him off onto her. "Is there a problem?"

"There are three, actually." He tapped the clipboard. "You instructed the trainees to use health potions to restore their injuries."

She nodded, feeling a flicker of irritation. "We have three available, right? I saw that as part of the contract."

Tollworth's lips made a thin line. "Those are meant to be for your team's use, Surveyor. Not the trainees."

Alex looked directly at him and waited a heartbeat. Some of the wind seemed to fade from his sails as she failed to respond defensively. "While I am training these people, they are all my team. If they are injured, they'll have access to the potions. Are there any questions?"

He looked down at his clipboard as if trying to draw strength from it. "Surveyor, those potions are a costly resource. They were meant to last the entire duration of your contract. If they run out—"

She waved away the concern. "We'll find more. Next question."

Tollworth blinked. Then his face flushed. "You instructed the trainees to spar with one another. Do you intend to have them rest tomorrow? They are supposed to enter the portal again."

"And they will." Alex paused for a moment. She thought she could hear the sound of practice blades and the occasional light discharge of magic. None of the recruits would be strong enough to do any damage yet, but that was a benefit for the training they were doing now. "Are they all hard at work?"

He ignored the question. "They are supposed to be receiving Brownhat seminars on appropriate Skill development, as well as effective salvaging practices. Instead, they are wasting valuable time tiring themselves out and wearing down our equipment!" Tollworth waved his clipboard like a flag in front of a bull. "They've even started Chaining their Skills! Without express approval! They could ruin their entire Skill development."

Alex shrugged. "They have my approval, Tollworth. If they screw it up, we'll work with them over the next few days to at least have them functional." She stretched. "We're going to have them at D rank within a couple of weeks or so. They can't afford to waste any time on seminars."

Then she paused and studied him. "Unless you think it is important enough to delay their next Survey?" She almost hoped he'd say yes; the next outing would be that much easier if the recruits had two nights of sleep instead of just one.

Tollworth practically snarled. "No. Of course not." He threw up his hands in frustration. "Honestly, how do you expect me to teach them how to be effective Surveyors at this rate?"

She raised an eyebrow again. "That's my job, Tollworth. We'll take care of Skill development and survival. You can focus on the salvage and procedures part when we're done." Then she smiled. "Of course, you could always come along on the next Survey if you want some extra time with them."

He blinked. Then he shook his head. "No. Don't be ridiculous." Tollworth tapped his clipboard. "Unfortunately, there is another problem you need to resolve. The PAD has been reporting that there has been no significant reduction in the portal's magic output. That was also part of your team's responsibility, was it not?"

Alex nodded. "That's right. Don't worry, we'll handle that in the next Survey."

"You intend to wait until tomorrow? I'm afraid that I cannot—"

She cut him off. "We're going in again this afternoon. Just me and my team for a few hours. It should be enough to handle things." Alex glanced at the doors as she heard a larger burst of fire from the training yard in front of the school. Clara would probably handle it. "The magic levels should drop then."

Tollworth stared at her, dumbfounded. "You're… going in twice? In one day? But that's…"

"How we're going to take care of it, Tollworth." Alex reached over and thumped him on the shoulder. "We'll go after the drills in the afternoon. I want to put the trainees through some supervised sparring in addition to what they are doing now. If you're still concerned, you can talk with us then."

He just looked back at her, swallowing and trying to find the words to respond. Before he could manage, the portal glowed, and Alex looked over to see Sam's team returning. They all looked a little fatigued, but none of them were bleeding out, which seemed like a good thing. Sam made his own appearance just a few moments later, pausing long enough to clap a trainee on the back before he made his way over to her.

She grinned at him. "A full clear?"

"Yep, for all of them. We've got a good set here, I think." He looked over at Tollworth curiously. "Any problems?"

Alex shook her head. "Nothing we aren't taking care of." She looked back at Tollworth. "Right?"

The Brownhat employee stared at her just a moment longer. Then he gave her a jerky nod and spun on his heel. She watched him stalk away, clipboard still in hand, with far too much satisfaction.

Sam watched the man go, and then turned to grin at her. "Up to your usual tricks, Valkyrie?"

"More than you know, Sneak. More than you know." She nudged him with a shoulder and then started off towards the cafeteria. "Let's get some food, and I'll catch you up on things later. We're going back in soon."

"So, do you think they hate us yet?"

Sam's question made Clara wince, but Alex just rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the world around them. They were on a Survey after all, even if it was just a normal D rank portal.

Despite that, she couldn't help but feel a little exasperated by the recruits' attitude. If anything, the E ranks should have been grateful to have the kind of training they were getting. She'd have killed for it at Golden Swallow.

Joanna didn't seem to agree. "The group practice was probably a bit much, Alex."

Alex grunted. "They needed it. I know they'll be tired, but—"

"They're going to be a bit more than tired, probably." The Adept shook her head. "Tollworth wasn't too happy with us either."

Sam snorted. "Well, yeah. We're probably keeping a lot more of them alive than he wants. Too many mouths to feed, after all."

Clara muttered something under her breath that Alex tried to ignore. The Acolyte had taken a deep dislike to the Brownhat Surveyor, and his continual complaints about the ongoing practices hadn't helped her opinion of him.

She looked back at Joanna. "Do you think he's going to cause us problems?"

"Probably, but we're more likely to cause him some first." Joanna shook her head. "Regardless, we should probably focus on the Survey now."

It was a fair point. Even if the previous Survey hadn't taken much work, this one probably would. After all, they would be hunting a lot more than isolated patrols now. "How far is the closest group of Camps?"

"Not much further." Joanna looked faintly thankful for the fact, though they had only been jogging a few minutes. "There should be four there."

Alex nodded. "Remember, the more we can wipe out, the lower the magic levels will get." She didn't mention that she'd taken an objective to wipe out thirty of the things, but she was sure Sam already knew. Between that and hitting an Outpost, the portal's level would probably drop like a rock. They had tried to choose targets that were far from the portal, though; the ones close by would produce patrols for the trainees to fight.

Clara frowned. "Do you really think we'll be able to push the level down that low? It took a couple of Surveys to bring things under control at Emerald Bay."

Sam shrugged. "Things were worse over there. I'm betting it goes down fast." Then he grinned. "Of course, what I'm really worried about is whether Alex is going to burn it like she did at Goldiron. Give us a warning before you turn into some kind of Tesla coil, okay?"

Alex snorted. A flash of the pain she'd gone through echoed in her mind. "I wouldn't worry about that. Definitely not planning on doing that again anytime soon."

He gave her an expectant look. "And?"

She grimaced. How had he figured it out? "And I got a label out of it."

Joanna missed a step as Clara's eyebrows shot upwards. Sam, on the other hand, just did a little hop and pumped his fist in the air. "That's right! What's it called?"

"Warpchannel." Alex shook her head at the excitement on his face. "It doesn't do anything, like the others didn't, but it was there for my first Survey today."

Sam's grin just kept growing. "Which means we've found another rule we can bend."

Clara gave him an incredulous look. "I don't think that would work for us, though. We can't use items."

"True, but once we can…" He chuckled to himself as they kept moving. "Besides, don't you know what this means? She has another label."

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Alex glanced at him. "And?"

"That means Pioneer isn't the end." Sam waggled his eyebrows at her. "If we can figure another couple out…"

Joanna's eyes widened. "Then we're going to unlock something else. Something more." She looked at Alex. "Alessa was right. Every time I think you've hit your limit on crazy…"

Clara burst out laughing, her pace slowing a little. "Alex, you need to slow down! We haven't even caught up to your first level of bonkers nonsense yet."

She gave her friend a tolerant look. "Well, maybe you should just speed it up a little."

The Acolyte stuck her tongue out at Alex, and then Joanna interrupted. "Coming up on the spot. Clara?"

The humor fell away from Clara's expression. In moments, the Acolyte was completely serious, her eyes glowing with magic. "Yeah, I see them. Lots of Grue. All over those buildings right there." She pointed to a cluster of shops on the other side of an abandoned road.

"Then let's get our workout for the day." Alex smiled and hefted her weapons. After all the simple patrols, it was going to be good to get a real fight in. Hopefully, her friends felt the same.

They destroyed that nest of Camps without hardly trying, wiping out the Grue in a wave of violence that let Alex know she wasn't the only one happy to not be holding back. The next four spots they found didn't last much longer, either. With each one, Alex's team rolled over the Grue like an avalanche, leaving broken crystals and burning corpses in their wake.

By the time they hit the sixth nest, they were only beginning to slow down, and Alex had already virtually completed her objectives. Battle Maneuvers had finally gone up a level as well, which didn't hurt her mood either.

She was feeling almost upbeat as Joanna directed them to a short, squat little building with a familiar-looking cross symbol on the front. Alex glanced at the Adept skeptically. "A clinic of some kind?"

Joanna nodded. "Yeah. At the very least, an Outpost, but maybe we can find a few health potions here as well."

Clara grunted. "Then maybe Tollworth won't be able to whine so much about the trainees using them."

Sam laughed softly. "You really have it out for the guy, don't you?"

"He's awful." Clara sniffed disdainfully. "I almost won't mind it when Alex ruins it this time."

Alex shot her a look and then turned back to the building. "How many inside?"

The Acolyte paused. "A few dozen. Mostly on the ground floor." She hefted her crossbow. "No need to hold back, right?"

"Not this time, no." Alex grinned. "Though I'd appreciate it if you pointed the Flowers out to me after, okay?"

Clara nodded, chuckling quietly, and they all started for the front entrance. Alex led the way up to the entrance, which featured a pair of cracked glass doors that had clearly seen better days. She could see the shadows of Grue moving inside, their forms shifting as they walked. Soldiers, Archers, Knights, Killers, even Mages and Brutes. It was going to be a lot tougher than the patrols they'd been steamrolling.

She almost couldn't wait.

Alex counted down on her fingers, and then she charged the doors. She went through them with her shield up, reducing the glass barriers to splinters as she sprinted straight at the closest pack of Grue. The creatures had just enough time to turn before she hit them, and then the battle was joined. Soldiers launched themselves at her, only to be smashed aside or cut down the moment they entered her range. Archers backpedaled and tried to shoot, while she used wind to shove their aim awry. Death found them moments later. Killers dropped their bows and took up blades, just to fall with a quick handful of chops; Knights didn't even last that long.

Only the Brutes seemed to provide any kind of challenge now, and they seemed baffled by her ability to block their strikes and cut them down with ease. Mages would step out with hands lit by magic and Alex would greet them with a lightning bolt that blasted them to pieces. The momentary delay the more advanced Grue provided didn't slow her by nearly as much, and by the time she realized the others had veered off onto alternate routes, she'd already carved her way through to the rear of the building.

She fought amongst the racks of supplies and the ruined refrigeration units that were located there. In place of medicines and bandages, there were now rows of strange plants; she thought she could recognize a Flower or two among them. Alex tried to be careful fighting around the plants, not wanting to destroy them while she killed her enemies. It still didn't seem to slow her that much, anyway.

Alex had just finished the last of the Grue in front of her when the bodies abruptly lit ablaze, telling her that the others had finished clearing the Outpost out completely. She shook her head in mute wonder at the fact; it hadn't been that long since the things had been far more difficult.

[Additional Objective Completed]

She waved away the words and set herself to searching for the Hidden Flowers. It was slightly frustrating work, looking for the marks that set the things apart, but she found three of them by the time Clara came to find her.

"There she is! Find anything good?"

Alex waved at her. "Just some plants, as usual." Clara nodded, pointing out another Flower that she'd missed. She muttered under her breath and went back for it.

[Objective Progress: 4 of 6 Flowers collected]

"Thanks." She glanced at Clara as the Acolyte started to look through the rest of the flower beds. "Where are Sam and Joanna?"

Clara grinned. "Searching for potions. I think they found a safe of some kind, and Sam is trying to relive his glory days." Alex grinned, remembering when his lockpicks had served them well at Golden Swallow. "Hopefully that has a bunch of them in there. Oh, here's another one."

Alex grabbed the indicated Flower.

[Objective Progress: 5 of 6 Flowers collected]

She sighed. "Maybe I should get a Skill like that next time. Seems like I'm always taking a lot longer for stuff like this."

The Acolyte grinned. "Why would you need that when you have me around?" She glanced around. "Besides, you have your own uses. Like killing things."

Alex straightened up and smiled. "Oh, is that all I am to you? A piece of meat with an axe?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You zap things too." She pointed at a bed tucked back into a corner. "There's another couple. Small ones, though, but I bet they count."

With a put-upon sigh, Alex went to collect the plants. Orange text burned to life a moment later.

[Additional Objective Completed]

She tucked them away with a feeling of satisfaction. Clara watched as she started for the exit. "All done?"

"Yep. Now we just need to get home." Alex paused as she reached a corridor. "Which way?"

Clara pointed, and they set off together, stepping around the chips of crystal that marked the graves of the Grue they'd fought. "What do they use those things for, anyway? On the outside, I mean."

Alex frowned. "Medicine, maybe? Or something with food? I never really kept track." She shrugged. "All I really know is that the Screen values them a lot and companies like to have them."

The Acolyte nodded. "Makes sense." She grinned. "You haven't used one yet, right?"

She shook her head. "Been kind of busy." Alex hesitated. "A little nervous about it too, honestly. These things might pack a lot more of a punch."

"True." Clara broke into a grin again. "Wouldn't want to be reckless or anything…"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it, you." She almost passed the room with Sam and Joanna in it. The Adept was watching Sam tinker with the lock, an exhausted expression on her face. She looked up as Alex and Clara walked in.

"Oh, good. Maybe you two can talk some sense into him."

Sam glanced up, his expression clearly frustrated. "We aren't just melting a hole in it, Thinker." The sarcasm in the nickname made Joanna twitch slightly. "For all we know, it has something delicate inside. The last thing we need is for you to burn it all."

Joanna grimaced. "At this rate, we're never going to know, anyway. Are you sure you can get it open? You don't have Tech—Lockpick anymore, remember?"

"I am well aware." Something clicked, and Sam froze. Then there was a grinding sound, and he slumped and muttered something under his breath.

The Adept leaned over him. There was a certain amount of gloating in her expression now. "Aw, did it reset? Did the master thief not figure it out again?"

He glared back at her, fatigue clear in his eyes as well as hers. "I'm not a thief. You don't get to—"

"Hold on." Alex spoke firmly enough to pull their attention back to her. "We're all tired. It's been a long day, whether we admit it or not. Maybe we can get to this on another run. We're going to be here a while, after all."

Sam grimaced. He pulled the tools out of the lock and sighed. "Yeah. I know." Then his expression brightened. "Did you find everything?"

Clara seemed to relax. "Everything and extra, thanks to yours truly." She poked at Alex. "I even have her questioning her Skill selection now."

Alex snorted, but Sam looked back at her with an interested expression. "Wait. So you have an extra Flower? Could we see what they do?"

She tried a flat look, but he just made a begging gesture and grinned. "Okay, fine, I'll give it a shot. Joanna, just be ready to put me out if I get lit on fire."

"No promises."

With one last roll of the eyes, Alex picked out the smallest Flower and held it in her hands. She could still smell the magic coming from it, and it shimmered in the dim lighting as she examined it. Each item had a different way of being activated, but a lot of the stronger items seemed to need to be crushed somehow. Could she…

Alex tightened her grip around the Flower. She felt the petals crunch beneath her grip, and a cloud of pink dust seemed to rise from between her fingers. It dispersed slowly, flowing into the room; a lingering scent that was hard to describe filled the air. Memories exploded into her mind, from her time at Golden Swallow, Red Blade Securities, and more. A rush of images flooded past, vivid and disorienting.

Then they were gone, fading like a dream. She shook her head, feeling a little dazed by the rush of emotions. "Anyone else get that?"

Sam blinked. He looked around. "Yeah, I'd say so." He blinked again and then glanced down at his hands. When he looked up, he seemed almost baffled. "Anyone else feeling… odd?"

"What do you mean?" Alex frowned. She rolled her shoulders slightly. The words seemed to come out a little too fast, and she started to bounce on her toes. Why were they all just standing around? A run would feel perfect.

"He's right. I feel…" Joanna lifted her hand, and flames danced across her fingers. She smiled. "My mind feels so clear right now. Like it's all so easy."

Clara's eyes were blazing green, and she seemed to be searching the room for something. "It's like I can see… everything. Everything all at once." Plants crept out of the floor, a carpet of weeds slowly sprouting beneath the tiles. One delicate sapling grew into something like a chair, and the Acolyte sat in it, her eyes still wide with wonder.

Alex looked at Sam, who shrugged. "I'm getting a lot more mental clarity, but I don't think I'm quite as far gone as those two. Why are you fidgeting so much?"

"Who's fidgeting? I'm not fidgeting." Alex tried to force herself to stay still. "Are you still working on that?"

Sam blinked and turned back to the safe. "I'll give it one more try. Maybe with this I can…" His words trailed off, and Alex waited impatiently while he tinkered with the lock one more time. Joanna continued to play with the fire in her hands, making shapes and patterns that Alex had never seen her try before, while Clara simply sat and stared, absorbed in whatever she was seeing.

It was a terrible relief when the lock sprung open a moment later. Alex darted forward and pried it the rest of the way, moving a little faster than she intended. Her fingers bumped the side of the safe and made her hiss with irritation at the pain. Inside was a collection of health potions, which she greedily started to pull out and store. "All right, we're good to go now, right? Let's get out of here. We need to go."

Sam looked a little concerned. "Sure. We can go, but you have to go slowly, okay? Stay close by."

Alex nodded, and she practically dragged Joanna and Clara out of the building, followed by a frowning Sam. She didn't know what he was so worried about. All she wanted to do was run. What could be the harm in that?

Three patrols later, the effects of the Flower had worn off, and Sam was struggling not to laugh as they neared the portal. Alex shot him a glare; every muscle seemed to be on fire, which hadn't been helped by the memory of her practically running in circles around the others for the past half hour. She'd even run straight into the Grue on her own too; the poor things had barely managed to see her coming, let alone hit her.

Joanna and Clara hadn't been much better off, either. Both were nursing terrible headaches; the Adept had a migraine so bad she could barely see, while Clara was practically magicless thanks to running through her usually unlimited power growing a near-forest in their wake. Neither seemed amused by Sam's attitude, either.

"I don't get why he's the least affected by it. We all got hit by it at the same time." Joanna's disgruntlement was both clear and utterly justified from Alex's perspective. Clara nodded along as well, her face drawn with fatigue.

Sam grinned. "Well, think about it. What's your highest Attribute?"

"Control." Joanna said it as if it was obvious, and Sam nodded before looking at Clara.

The Acolyte frowned. "Mine's Devotion."

"And I imagine that Alex's is still Speed, right?" Alex nodded, and Sam continued. "Meanwhile, my highest one is Control, but not by much, and while I have magic, I don't nearly have as much as Joanna over there."

Alex blinked. Pieces started to combine for her. "But you did get a lot better at lockpicking."

"Yep. Which would be related to Life, actually." He grinned. "I'm guessing that Flower gives you a boost based on whatever your highest Attributes are. Which is why the Valkyrie has been sprinting like some kind of a bunny for the past while."

She grunted sourly, and Clara shook her head. "If that's the case, I think I might need to even my stuff out. That was way too much insight into things."

Joanna nodded and then flinched. "I had heard I overthink sometimes, but that…"

Sam snickered at the joke, and Alex rolled her eyes. She locked her eyes on the portal and headed straight for it. As fun as it had been to enjoy that kind of overwhelming speed, she needed a rest. Tomorrow would be another rough day, after all.

[Mission Report]

[Completed an Objective. +20 Experience]

[Priority Objective Completed. +300 Experience]

[Additional Objective Completed +30 Experience]

[Additional Objective Completed +120 Experience]

[Additional Objective Completed +50 Experience]

[All Objectives Complete +80 Experience]

Alex grinned at the message despite the soreness flowing through her. Another Survey down, and she didn't even need to worry about Liliana showing up as a result. At least, not yet.

[Current Portal Status: Diminishing, Magic Level Decreasing]

[Current Portal Level: D3 -> D2]

[Local Area Population: None]

The fact that the portal strength was decreasing already made her want to dance. She wasn't going to be able to downgrade the thing, not without hitting Anchor Points, but at least for the weeks they were here, the E ranks would have an easier time of things.

[Battle Maneuvers*** increased from 24 to 25!]

[Motion Trance increased from 15 to 18!]

Apparently, the berserk energy provided by the Flower had given her some benefits after all. She moved forward. The light, as always, was ready to surround her…