Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 189: Arriving At Ironforge

As the carriage made its way along the path leading towards Ironforge, Alice, despite her exhaustion, double checked her equipment and made sure everything was ready.

Even her gloves, which had to be fixed, might need to be used in this battle to ensure the best possible rewards.

Looking over the mechanism within the gloves, she made sure the threads could still be deployed and hooked it onto her bracelet.

Seeing Alice do some light checkups on her gloves, Thane couldn't help but observe her work curiously. Naturally, he recognized the bracelet on her arm but the gloves were something new entirely.

'Those threads... I doubt she'll be able to collect something that expensive easily. Maybe Allura gave it to her.' He mused before turning his attention back to their surroundings.

Once Alice finished checking through all of her equipment, she fastened the pouch and looked towards Thane.

"Have they found the beast yet? Or are they there for something else?" She asked, hoping that it was just a coincidence that another group was in the same area.

"They're still there and gathering some information from the locals right now. For your standards, I'd say they're pretty experienced Hunters considering the prep they've put into this." Thane replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Furrowing her brows, Alice nodded her head and closed her eyes.

She needed to rest her mind for now and focus up once they arrived.

If she could help it, she wanted to avoid conflict with the other party. Alice hoped that they were just there to take care of the beast and not there for a Sigil. If it was the former, there was a chance for negotiation.

However, if it was the latter, they might have to fight it out to see who can get the beast.

Just thinking about this, Alice could feel the slow rise of 'hunger' within her mind as she shook off the feeling and took deep breaths to calm herself.

She was here to hunt the beast, not the people. Unless they aimed for her life, there was no reason to kill them.

"Need some help with that killing intent of yours?" Thane asked with a light yawn. Even though it was brief, he could clearly sense the fluctuation of Alice's mental state.

"No it's fine. I just need to control myself a bit and things should be okay." Alice shook her head.

Since Alice said no, he wasn't going to continue asking.

As the carriage continued to drive towards their destination, the landscape changed from the city outskirts to open terrain and finally, a mountainous path.

Ironforge, much like its name suggests, is a forge rather than a city. The forge itself is located in the middle of the Iron Mountains while rivers of lava flow underneath.

Even from afar, they could see the billowing smoke pushing out of the mountain top while a rhythmic echo would pulse out, sounding like the clash of metal against metal.

Upon arriving at the south side of the forge, Alice didn't even bother to explore the city as she immediately jumped off the carriage.

"Where is the group right now?" Alice asked while trying to wake up Ria.

"Don't know." Thane smiled.

His reply caused Alice to pause in confusion.

"I've already done plenty. If I told you it'll be no fun for me. Just know the beast is still alive." Thane shrugged, showing that he wasn't interested in helping her anymore.

"Alright thank you."

Giving Ria a few more shakes, she groggily sat up and looked around her in confusion.

"Huh? Where are we?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"Ironforge. We're going to hunt the Amphiptere right now since another group is also going after it. If they're friendly we might be able to negotiate but if they're not we'll have to fight.

Blinking her eyes, Ria had to take a moment to digest what she had just heard as the last thing she could remember was sleeping in her room.

But once she fully comprehended what they were about to do, her eyes turned serious as she jumped off the carriage and stretched her body.

"Alright, what do you need me to do? There's only so much I can help since this is a three star beast. I'm not sure what my assistance will do for the contributions."

"Are you able to help me hold the beast back if things go south? Either that or drag me away since it's known for its speed. If the plan falls through, I'll need to rethink my approach." Alice asked as she let the driver know where to wait.

Meanwhile, Thane simply followed behind without saying anything for now. He was simply here to observe after all.

"Alright. I'll do what I can." Ria nodded. This suited her just fine as she wanted to test out what she had learnt from Thane in a practical setting. Especially since the beast is known for its speed.

With the basic tasks now done, Alice didn't hesitate and immediately made her way out of the city and towards the lower mountains down south. That was where the beast was supposedly hunting so looking around there was a good start.

Plus, she'll be able to find the tracks of the hunting party as well.

"Ria can you see if you can spot a group of Hunters from above? If we can find them that way it'll save us the time of looking for their tracks." Alice asked as the faster she found them the better.

"Sure." Ria nodded before throwing a bolt of lightning into the air and teleporting away.

With Ria scouting the scene from above, Alice adjusted her posture and rushed through the mountain.

Unlike her previous hunts where they were mostly done in forests, there were no trees to obscure her sight. The only difficulty with this terrain that Alice could see was the cracks and crevices in the ground, leading to ravines.

She was unfamiliar with the type of beasts that roam these parts of the land as the Blood Coil Amphiptere is not alone.

There will be other beasts that might become an issue if she's not prepared.

'Damn… I should've read some books about the surroundings. Maybe this is what Thane means.' Alice sighed inwardly as making a note on as many variables as possible would've made this so much easier.

But there's no use crying over spilt milk, she'll just have to do better next time.

"I found them." Ria called out while Alice looked up.

Seeing that Ria was pointing towards the west, Alice adjusted her pathing.

Equipping her gloves, she activated her first Sigil and boosted her physical capabilities to its max so she didn't need to wait should a fight break out immediately.

Twisting her body, she adjusted the bracelet into a dagger and rapidly ascended one of the many peaks of the mountain range.

As she reached the top, she looked down and saw the group that Ria was talking about.

They were travelling in a group of four. A front liner wearing a full set of heavy metal armour with a cape. Judging by the shield on his back and the sword on his waist, Alice could assume that he was probably an Anti Beast user if he had a resonance.

'One sword and shield user, a swordswoman wearing clothes in the eastern style like what Ria wears, a fighter judging by his gauntlets and finally a girl without any weapons. Hmm… she probably focuses on using Sigil abilities rather than something that augments her body like the other three.'

"They're all three's. Let's just hope they can be negotiated with." Alice sighed.

"Shall I wait up here then? If it looks like a 4 vs 1, they'll be less on guard since you're alone."

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head before sliding down the mountain face and running towards the group.

Naturally, her presence was soon discovered and the group went on guard immediately.

"Stop! Who are you and what do you want?" The frontliner shouted out as he grabbed his shield and entered a defensive stance, ready to charge her if she was hostile.

Raising her hands as a sign that she didn't come to fight, Alice opened her mouth.

"Alice Agnelia, just a Hunter looking to kill a beast. Not here for a fight. I just wanted to ask if we're here for the same thing."

Hearing this, the frontliner frowned slightly before glancing to the rest of his party.

"Rowan. We're here because we received a commission to investigate and take care of whatever is causing the troubles." Rowan replied while Alice sighed in relief.

"Would it be okay if you want the target over to me then? I believe it should be the beast I have as my bounty. If I can kill it, I get another Sigil."

"You know what the beast is?" The weaponless woman asked in surprise as Alice nodded her head.

"I have a good idea of what it is. It should be a Blood Coil Amphiptere based on the rumours I've heard. I think we can come to an agreement here. Let me kill the beast so I can finish my bounty while you can finish your commission without having to do anything. What do you say?" Alice smiled.

Looking at one another, they seemed to exchange silent words while Alice waited patiently.

"Are you here alone?"

"Yes I am."

She wasn't technically lying. She was alone while meeting them.

"And you have the confidence to hunt the beast solo?" The swordswoman raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty confident in my power. So can I have your answer?"

"What if the beast isn't the Amphiptere?" Rowan asked, wanting to discern Alice's intent. Even though her initial answer seemed truthful, you could never be too careful when dealing with other Hunters.

"Well if it isn't the beast I'm looking for then I can only leave. But I'm pretty confident in my sources." Alice smiled.

Seeing this, Rowan could only frown as things had become awkward for them.

After all, the commission was simply an excuse. They were also here for the Sigil!

Noticing the hesitation in his expression, Alice was confused. If they were here for the commission then surely there shouldn't be an issue. She'll get the kill for the Sigil and they get their reward.

"I'm sorry but I have to ask you to leave this beast to us. First come first serve." Rowan smiled apologetically as Alice furrowed her brows.

But considering that they were kind enough to warn her, she wasn't going to kill them.