54 Friendly Competition (1/2)
The chaos inside the militia barracks was truly staggering. More than likely, it was the most activity the barracks had seen in a long time, perhaps even ever, Eric thought to himself as he approached the map, opening his notification window as he did so.
[Quest Received: Operation: Northhome]
After wiping out the forward bases of the Ironfrost Horde, the remnants have scattered throughout the northern reaches of Novanalba where they now attack Novanalban settlements and traders. They must be eliminated for the safety of all who dwell in the north!
Primary Quest Objective: Eliminate the advance parties of the Ironfrost Horde.
Rewards: Dependent upon your performance. Increased reputation within the Lunbrengur Region. Increased reputation with the Lunbrengur Region Militia.
[Quest Received: Knight of Crowsea(1)]
In order to become a proper knight of Crowsea, you need to learn from Alistair. His first task for you is to gain the status needed to be appointed as a Platoon Commander. In order to this you must first raise your reputation in Novanalba and learn how to lead. Alistair has proposed that you form your own party for Operation: Northhome.
Primary Quest Objective: Form a party of five members to participate in Operation: Northhome. Perform exceptionally so that you may earn a post as Platoon Commander in the upcoming offensive.
Secondary Quest Objective: Recruit the Tonbura villager, Lark, into your party.
Rewards: Dependent upon your performance in Operation: Northhome. Increased reputation with Alistair. Increased reputation in the Lunbrengur Region. Increased rank with the Lunbrengur Region Militia. Possibility to advance along the Knight's Path.
Dismissing the quest windows, Eric found himself next to the map that Alistair had been using earlier. Now that he'd gotten closer, Eric could see that the map was actually far more detailed than he'd thought at first glance. Ridges and mountains crafted of mana rose impressively above the flat surface, while various canyons and gullies could be seen running through the forests that dominated the map. While the cities were not fully detailed, key buildings could still be distinguished. An enormous palace marked the capital city of Seacove, while Lucy's tower could be seen rising above the tiny mark that was Tonbura Village. Gio had arrived at some point during the briefing, and was now standing next to the map along with Ryan, Jun, and the others, leaving only Rob missing.
Hovering over the spot where Tonbura Village could be seen on the map, Mark and Jun were both pointing out red dots, and discussing which target would be best to take down first.
”A bigger den means bigger rewards. There's no point clearing out smaller ones, leave those to the noobs,” Jun was arguing. His voice raised to be heard above the general din.
”We should do a smaller den first to get used to the difficulty. We can always clear out multiple dens, so let's be cautious for the first clear,” Mark shot back.
”We having an argument here?” Eric asked, taking a quick glance at where on the map the two were pointing.
”Just trying to decide on which den to attack first. Jun wants to go for a big one right away, Mark wants to play it safe,” Ryan explained.
”You're back, Eric?” Mark asked, turning around to greet his friend.
”Yeah.”
”What did Alistair have to talk to you about?”
”I was just about to tell you guys about that. Follow me outside?” Eric asked, jerking his head towards the door. Nodding in a confused manner, the rest of the group followed Eric out of the barracks, leaving the clamoring militia to close ranks around the map as they departed.
”So, what's this about then, Eric?” Mark asked with a curious expression.
”Yeah. What did Alistair tell you?” Jun demanded.
Rather than answer the pair, Eric turned to the rest of the group. ”What are your guys' goals for Riptide?”
”Sorry?”
”Come again?”
”What are your goals for Riptide. What do you guys want to accomplish as part of Riptide?” Eric reiterated with a serious tone.
”Become the best,” Ryan was the first to answer, firmly replying to the sudden question.
”What he said. No point in settling for anything less,” said Jun.
Eric nodded. ”And the rest of you?” he asked, addressing the other three.
Griffin merely shrugged. ”Have fun, go as far as we can in the tournament.”
”Win the tournament I guess?” Gio said after a moment.
”Make Riptide great of course. Why are you asking? Does this have something to do with what Alistair had to talk to you about?” Mark asked.
”Yeah. My conversation with him made me realize a few things. If we want Riptide to succeed, we can't just keep doing what we've been doing. We talked about increasing our training after the tournament, but we need to do more than just that,” said Eric.
”So what do you suggest?”
Quickly, Eric laid out what Alistair had told him, putting extra emphasis on the part about taking command of a platoon during the next expedition. Upon hearing what Alistair had said, the rest of Riptide fell silent, a contemplative mood falling upon the party.
Mark was the first to break the silence. ”So, you're saying we should split up? Make our own parties?”
”Yes,” Eric nodded. ”If we want Riptide to become successful, we can't just focus on being a strong team. That's not what Fate's about and it's also not how we qualify for the World Championships. What we need to do is become strong as a guild and own an outpost and in order to do that we need to be able to attract other strong people to Riptide. We're not going to be able to do that if we stay together all the time.”
Mark nodded slowly. ”That sounds reasonable. Despite our recent success, none of us ranked very highly on the recent Novanalba power rankings in the forums.”
”Wait, there's a power ranking in the forums?” Ryan asked, his gaze moving from Eric as he gave Mark his undivided attention.
”Yeah, a few guys put it together based on people's placings in local tournaments, as well as their achievements and titles earned so far,” Mark replied. ”The highest any of us got was Jun at 27th. Eric was 32nd, I was 73rd, and the rest of us weren't ranked at all.”
”They only put me at 32nd?”
”They only put me five places ahead of Eric?”
Both Eric and Jun spoke at the same time, their indignant remarks causing Mark to wince as he glanced at them.
”Don't yell at me, yell at the guys who put together the ranking. For context, even Hydrus was only ranked at 21st. They didn't take the militia tournament too seriously compared to the ones that were closer to Seacove City. Eric probably would've been lower as well if he hadn't gotten knighted.”
”Damn, that's bullshit,” Eric swore. Uncharacteristically, Jun nodded, for once agreeing with Eric as he expressed his views on the intelligence of the ranking committee and the various relations of their mothers.
Mark spread his hands helplessly. ”It's just a forum ranking. Don't take it so seriously.” Even if it is being taken as the official Novanalba ranking list, he added silently.
”Who's in first?” Jun demanded.
”Nova Five's Twizzler.”
”Makes sense,” Eric conceded. ”Any other big names?”
”Most of Nova Five and Atlantic Carries are playing and ranked pretty highly. I don't recognize every name, but the top twenty is pretty well known. Most of them seem to have started closer to Seacove than we did though. Barns and Grott are both here as well, but they're in the upper half near me. You guys and Hydrus are the only ones from the militia tournament to make it into the top fifty.”
”That settles it, we have to increase our ranks,” Jun decreed with an unusually serious expression.
”So are we going to split up then?” Eric asked cautiously.
”I'm fine with it. What do the rest of you think? This is a pretty big decision after all. Obviously we can talk it over with Rob later as well,” Mark asked, turning to the rest of the group.
Ryan and Jun looked at each other.
”I'm cool with it.”
”Whatever, at least I won't have to carry Eric's scrub ass. Should make ranking up easier.”