Awaking to a new dawn, Logan loaded up his quest log out of habit before going off to undertake the said quest.

Readying his spells for the day ahead, Logan had amassed quite the magic arsenal for having a class with seemingly few slot increases. He prepared 1+3* Flame, 1+2* Lightning, 1, Gaia, 1 Necromantic, 3 summons, *4 and a Signature Dimensional Jaunt. His rings granted him some silentcasts, and his elementals gave him 16 MP to use amongst the spells he had prepared.

Marcus rose as Logan was absorbing the spells of his elementals and keeping Fahrenheit at the ready.

“Eugh, guess I lost?” the Devout asked as he sat up in his bed.

“That you did, great fight though”, Logan replied.

“Indeed it was. If you had all of your teleports it would have been much more one-sided”, Marcus announced as he got out of bed rubbing his head.

“I could have also drawn it out further by going atop a tower or some such and just using Force all day. Though that’d be boring to watch and to do.”

“I could just hide, at which point we’d stalemate.”

As the pair chatted they heard a loud knock at their door and a familiar voice on the other side, “Logan, Marcus. You two awake?”

Logan shifted to the door and opened it to see Cassius standing there, garbed in his usual combat gear of red and white.

“I’ve gathered two others for our assault. We leave when the details are set at the hall”, Cassius continued as he looked at a readied Logan.

“We just finished our prep”, Logan replied as Marcus got up beside him.

Cassius left the hallway to the stairwell without many more words, still showing signs of frustration at the whole ordeal. It could have been his own form of grief, as he did say before that guildies were like secondary families.

The pair followed after, alongside Spark, Celsius, and Fahrenheit. Logan had plans for the latter two elementals due to their elements having more interaction with a place of ice, though they would be dismissed before teleportation went underway.

Getting to the main entrance and dining area of the inn revealed two slightly familiar faces to Logan and Marcus.

There was Koma, a rather tall woman at 6’5” whose bow on her back stood close to 7’. Her leather garb was a full set of dark greens with an accompanying emerald cloak that hid her right side well enough. Her black hair was loose down her back but kept mostly under her cloak and tunic. Shimmering blue eyes stared at Logan, showing a hint of disdain.

And Patavava, a shorter gashriek at 5’11” whose wrist gauntlets housed a triangular set of short staves. Logan hadn’t seen that setup yet, though he guessed it was a different specialisation he hadn’t come across. His flame-accented robes revealed he was prepared for blasting foes with fire, just as was needed for an icy locale. His brunette hair was swept back to reveal brown eyes that could have used several hours more sleep.

“This is Koma, our scout Rogue, and Patavava, our foci Sorcerer”, Cassius explained as he waved his hands towards his allies. “This is Logan, our Grasp expert, and Marcus, our healer Devout.”

“That makes five, Cassius said you could teleport us to our destination?” Koma spoke up.

“If I dismiss my elementals, yes. I can do a max of six at a time”, Logan explained.

“More than I. Sounds more like a phase expert”, Patavava replied.

“I found it helped more with my hunting assignments.”

“We can discuss things further on route. Let us sort out the quest details at the hall”, Cassius interrupted.

“Of course, let’s do that”, Logan replied.

The party left the inn and walked their way to the G-Hall, ever abuzz with adventurer activity. On the way there, the group conversed a little more about their abilities. Logan was informed that a foci caster, which Patavava was, were magi who empowered their casting through staves.

Similar to the normal magic staves, Patavava had a unique set of gauntlets that allowed him several enhancements at a time. From quickcasting to meta alterations, the Sorcerer was more adept at casting than the normal mage, though with a reliance on said staves to keep up. Most of his skills were centred on that focus, so he wasn’t too adept at summoning or teleportation like Logan was. The staves also made it hard to engage in melee combat or holding anything in the hands.

Koma on the other hand wasn’t anything too startlingly different from other scouts he had met before. Invisibility skills, climbing, and scouting, all were abilities he had seen in the past.

Logan could easily spot some of the other adventurers moving their gazes onto Cassius, muttering on their lips revealing that many knew him in an instant.

“Lord killer is here.”

“That’s Raid Master Cass, right?”

“He came back yesterday, and already back at it?”

With the group moving to the dungeon offices at the back, the whispering continued.

“Leave it to Cassius to take on yet another dungeon so soon.”

“Think they didn’t accept their reward yet?”

“What is he doing with hunters?”

Closing the door behind them also shut off the talk behind their backs. Cassius and Logan moved to the counter while the others sat at a table.

“Hello, we’re here to reassign a dungeon”, Cassius began before turning to the side, “Logan.”

Logan walked forward as he took out his wooden magenta signet and confirmed the details of the Ice Monarch’s cavern quest.

“Cassius, Koma, and Patavava. All over 20 though we haven’t had reassessments in some time”, Cassius informed as he showed off his metallic signet of a red hue.

The clerk on the other side of the counter had a surprised look on his face as he replied, “That is fine, sir. We have no issues with this transference.”

Logan had learned a bit about the metal signets, they were often issued to adventurers whose ranks were 15 or higher. The leaderboards in the G-Hall noted almost all adventurers of rank 10 and above, those who were 15 to 40 numbered in the thousands. That only included those assigned to the G-Hall, however, Logan had no grasp on the total number.

Three adventurers of ranks over 20 were an uncommon sight to behold, but as they were all in the same guild it wasn’t too out of the ordinary.

“That is all done for you, sir”, the clerk spoke as he finished adjusting the contracts.

“Thank you”, Cassius replied as he moved back to his team with Logan by his side.

“All is well?” Patavava asked.

“Yes, our new team is assigned and we can leave at our leisure.”

Logan had another party confirmation window appear as he was added to Cassius’s side once again.

“Cassius: Fighter 26, 442/442 HP, 0/0 MP.

Koma: Rogue 21, 284/284 HP, 0/0 MP.

Patavava: Sorcerer 20, 168/168 HP, 48/48 MP.

Logan: Spellthief 14, 158/158 HP, 16 MP.

Marcus: Devout 8, 92/92 HP, 22/22 MP. “

Logan had to do a double-take at Cassius’s health, a monstrous number that only showed how useful he was in the goblin invasion.

“Logan, you ready?” Cassius asked, breaking Logan out of his focus.

“Yeah”, the Spellthief responded, a bit out of his depth.

The party moved towards the city gate, Logan ever aware of the watchful eyes at his back as well as that of his allies. It seemed that passing rank 20 made you a sort of celebrity, though, that kind of strength did warrant a portion of admiration.

Cassius’s name was well-known due to his work in the goblin invasion, but perhaps more as the third in line at Lightbeam. His work over years may have also been a component of his fame, a rank 26 had to put in quite a bit of work to reach that high.

When the party had cleared the gates with their mounts they all gathered around Logan, placed their hands on him, and teleported away.

It took six Dimensional Jaunts through the air to the ground to make it to the exterior of the ice caverns, equating to twelve MP from Logan. A long three-day journey cut down into a couple of minutes.

Landing with a wave of wind, the horses' neighs were quieter than usual, most likely due to their age and time spent teleporting in the past. Since there were going to be numerous piles of gear and materials to take back, Logan wasn’t going to be able to teleport the party home. 900lbs per Jaunt would equate to a few days of back and forth.

Checking their immediate vicinity, the party quickly noticed several tracks circling the base of the mountain that the cave was dug into. Countless boots and sabatons had made their way through, not a good sign when traitors were a dime a dozen.

“Logan, do you scan any hostiles?” Cassius asked as he drew his blade.

Clicking his fingers, Logan couldn’t see anyone initially, but a few seconds later several yellow dots started to approach from the right side of the mountain.

“There are some creatures coming from the right, they’re not large, so they could be humanoids.”

At the mention of creatures, Koma ran to a nearby tree and jumped onto its trunk and followed that by three more jumps to reach its top in seconds. Patavava ran behind the trunk of a different tree.

Following his companions’ leads, Logan ran to a different tree. Marcus darted for a tree closer to Cassius, who stood in a fighting position in the clearing.

With the party, or at least most of it, hidden away, Cassius was the only one to notice the robed individuals get closer. One of them even raised an arm to give a wave and greeting.

“Ho there, Magi’s Tower associates here, no need to worry”, the man shouted as the group continued closer.

“What is the MT doing here?” Cassius asked with his weapon still at the ready.

“Investigating, as we usually do. We have documentation”, a familiar voice replied, handing a rolled parchment to Cassius.

Unfurling it, Cassius gave it a quick once over before handing it back, “Alright”, he said to the man before turning his head, “they’re fine”, he yelled to his party.

Moving from cover, the rest of the party made themselves known as they approached their leader.

“Nice to see you again, Logan”, the man said as he saw the Spellthief.

“Xican, was it?” Logan responded as he looked at the middle-aged mage in the flowing waterfall and lightning-strike robes.

“Correct. I take it, seeing you in the presence of Lightbeam, that you chose a guild over the MT?”

Cassius turned his head again to look at Logan, assessing the situation and possible previous interactions.

“Not exactly, we’re working on a dungeon together after… a previous failed attempt.”

“Assessing spellforce flow is a long process, how far are you into it?” Cassius interrupted.

“A few hours, a few more to go”, another mage replied.

“Assessment? What for?” Logan asked.

“It is a common event for the return of the Ice King, when it is close to the 2-month timer. We track the flow of spellforce to preempt any changes in his revival cycle.”

“So, they don’t know he is going to appear earlier this year?” Logan thought.

“I hope there are no further complications then? We have been informed of the lieutenants showing themselves within the entrance chamber”, Cassius asked.

“Yes, Lieutenant Frost, as they are dubbed. We have scanned at least one of those within close proximity. ‘Tis why we have not entered.”

“You can use Teleport though, Xican, would you lot not be easily able to take it on with fourth-level spells?” Logan asked.

“If we had the raid contract, we’d have done so. We have allowance to enter as part of our assessment either way, but, it would be rude to take on another’s quarry”, Xican replied.

“That is fair enough, normal hall rules state as much for adventurers. I was not sure if the MT were able to overrule it.”

“Are you asking for our employ?” another mage asked.

“Not required, we are ample enough”, Cassius responded quickly.

“Raid Master Cass, am I correct?” the leader mage asked, drawing back his hood to reveal countless wrinkles on mocha skin.

“Yes, sir, I do not know of you though.”

“Baev, I am leading this assessment. I assure you my team will work quicker knowing we are keeping you.”

“If there is anything awry, let us know”, Cassius responded as he began to turn away.

“A moment, sir.”

“Yes?”

“Might we speak in private, away from our comrades?”

“Sure”, Cassius responded before turning to face his team, “set up the camp, I’ll be with you shortly.”

Walking several paces away, Cassius and Baev began to speak near a tree. The magi team returned to the base of the mountain, pocket watches in their hands and parchment ready for note-taking. Xican stayed behind to talk to Logan further though.

“Have you been well? Sheepdog now, isn’t it?” Xican asked as he looked towards Marcus walking to help set up the camp.

“You know the ranks of the hunters well”, Logan responded as he glanced at his dim gold armband.

“As we spoke of before, the Magi’s Tower association often aids the hunters in tracking and taking down rogue magi.”

“Most of my mage contracts came from within the city so far.”

“That may change in the future, but let us not dwell on futures grim.”

“You wanted to speak about something else of the future?”

“Yes, Logan. Since you have not joined with Lightbeam, I am curious as to your relation to them, outside of your work alongside Cassius in the goblin invasion I did not think you close.”

“They invited me to join, I said I would decide later. Before that came to be, some of their guildies died under my lead, in this cavern.”

“And so they have taken control to exact revenge on the creatures that did this?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well, it is not unheard of. Many a guild holds their members as family.”

“I’m getting that impression”, Logan replied as he looked at his team working on the camp.

“To move away from sidetracking, have you given our invitation any further consideration?”

“Yes. I may have to decline. I am not aiming to be tying myself down right now. My careers are flourishing right now, outside of this one defeat.”

“That armband notes, 50 hunts? You have certainly done a lot in such a short time. Were you not working to be a teleportation expert?”

“I’ve been expanding. Grasp, teleportation, and a bit of tracking.”

“A diviner? That is quite a useful specialisation. Though that word doesn’t befit the breadth of your abilities. You seem to be quite the summoner too, with two at your behest from what I’ve recently been told.”

“We’ve had a few hunts that brought in tomes, I can bring up three now”, Logan revealed.

“Ah, of course. I’ve yet to meet a hunter who was any form of mage before.”

“Are there any benefits at the MT for my particular set of skills?”

“The diviner chamber pays well, actually. If you focused on that side you’d find a steady stream of coin flowing your way.”

“Maybe if other things don’t work out”, Logan said with a considering face.

“Well, I shouldn’t keep you”, Xican replied as he began to walk to his team.

“Hope your work is smooth”, Logan answered as he turned to his own.

Walking back to his team, Logan ruminated over his range of skills and spells. Were they really that out of the ordinary? He hadn’t engaged with too many mages, at least those at his level. It was a possibility he would need to hide away the range of his abilities if he were to continue hiding… though he was soon to leave, so it should be fine.

“Friend of yours?” Patavava asked.

“Not really, we met before. Had a long talk about the goblin invasion”, Logan replied.

“A high-level mage, was more like an interview really”, Marcus added.

“I’d be more annoyed at their interference if it weren’t for our needing a rest”, Koma added.

“No doubt Logan used up a lot of his power to bring us here. I’ll take one day over a possible four”, Patavava defended.

As if on cue, Cassius returned to add to the conversation, “We will need his tracking powers. We can take on the foes, but he needs to show us the right paths to take and where ambushes may lie.”

“Got it, boss”, Patavava and Koma replied in unison.

“The magi will be gone before we sleep, in the morning we’ll start on the dungeon. Reports put it at around a three-day clear, we may be able to get that done earlier. There will be no boss at the end, that’s the Ice King. We’ll be offered his head to take for ourselves on clearing the dungeon. The magi here confirmed that the King has not revived yet, so we’re clear there.”

“Smooth sailing then?” Koma asked.

“A lot of the monsters have hard skin, your daggers and my sword will do less to most. Stick to fire attributes or bludgeons. Marcus, you can Enhance our Strength, right?”

“I can, Cassius. Close to five minutes, twenty-five if I use a bit extra spellforce”, Marcus explained.

With Extended Enhance at tier 2, Marcus added an extra 20 seconds per level to the duration. It was a fine purchase indeed, especially when it came to dungeons that took much longer to deal with than ordinary quests.

“Do so for the beginning encounter, save the rest of your spellforce for healing. We’ll adjust as needed.”

“There is quite a variety of monsters inside, maybe more from the intel we had access to. Though you shouldn’t have much trouble with them”, Logan informed.

“I’ve dealt with some of them before, the ice golems will be new. No matter what they are, they will all die for what they’ve done.”

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