Chapter 110: Haka, the Ghost Town (1)

"Sup you two. So, how did your quest with Reggie go the other day?" Rein chatted with Clyde and Sho as he entered the room, sitting down at the circular table along the side of the commission room together with the others.

"..." They both stayed silent, Rein's question clearly unnerving them, which piqued Rein's suspicion.

"They haven't talked about it since they got back. Neither has Reggie," Chloe stated, Rein activating 'third eye' to see if any of them were affected by a Spring.

As he did, he saw nothing clouding over them, Rein coming to the conclusion that it was something that they simply didn't want to talk about.

"Well, anyways! Shall we look for a commission to do?" Rein sprung up, quickly changing the subject, the two guys sighing breaths of relief as they stood up with him, inspecting the board for S rank missions.

"Thank you, Rein," Clyde whispered under his breath as he passed Rein, who picked up on it.

"Let's see… 4 S rank quests in total, huh?" Sho said to himself as he looked at the board.

"One in Haka, one in Daster, one in Pathuless, and one in Tura," Xenia recited as the rest of the group got up to inspect them.

"It looks like the most lucrative one is the one in Daster, and it's the closest. Should we do that one?" Chloe turned to Rein, who was patiently waiting for something, not giving her answer a reply.

"Let's do the one in Haka," a voice commented, the group turning around to face Core.

"Huh? Why? That's the least rewarding one and It's pretty far away. We can't even use the teleporters to bring us closer," Sho listed, everyone else in the group nodding at his conclusions.

"It's fine. We'll go with the Haka commission," Rein decided, the entire group raising an eyebrow at his sudden agreement with Core.

"Are you sure? We're going to use up our only commission this week, so shouldn't we go for the more lucrative one?" Xenia asked, still trying to figure why they chose that one.

"Oh, I'm not sure. But Rein agreed, so I guess we're going there now," Core laughed as the rest of the group looked at him with a straight face, then turned their gazes to Rein, the one who agreed to it.

"H-hey guys, don't look at me like that. C'mon, I've never been there before. Daster's boring, everyone's been there," Rein nervously laughed as the group stared at him intently, then all of them sighing as they accepted the situation.

"Very well then. However, let's read the request before accepting," Clyde suggested as he flipped the paper over, reading what it said on the back.

"8th prestige Rangers and above only!

We've been experiencing mysterious disappearances throughout the village over the past few weeks. We believe that it might be some sort of monster or apparition spiriting people away. We need the help of the guild in retrieving and defeating the threat!

- Chief Akah"

As they read the job description, they could feel the unnerve settling into their bodies.

"This is a joke, right? G-ghosts don't r-really exist…" Xenia asked, her voice shivering in uncontained fear.

"It's gotta be. There's no way it's really a ghost. Anyways, let's start heading there. You guys agree to accept, right?" Rein hastened, all of the group nodding in affirmation, all except Xenia, who was still hesitant on the situation.

The group gave the request to the receptionist, who accepted it with a smile.

"With pleasure! You seem to have the required number of S class students, so this should be no problem. 75 points and 75 000 Rol will be awarded to each student participating. Since tomorrow is your day off, you may choose to take until the next school day to finish this request.

Good luck!"

The receptionist wished them as they exited the room, making their way to the north of the gulf to where the tunnel led out to a worn-out path under Lifah.

(click to see visual) (won't be here until my ban lifts)

"Let's stop at Kanirah first. There's no guild branch in Tuwalmura or Haka, so we should register to the nearest one," Rein suggested, his actual motive being that he wanted to drive the group away from Lifah.

"Sounds like a plan. You guys up for a jog? We'll make it there much faster if we run," Core declared, his suggestion confusing some of the group members.

"Hold on, you want to run with us? You know each one of us is like, 10 times faster than you, right?" Xenia asserted, making Core laugh haughtily.

"And that's where you're wrong, my fellow cursed vessel! Now, B1!" He yelled, a grey-haired boy, who looked to be the same age as Core in physical appearance, appearing out of nowhere, wearing all white clothes, kneeling down on 1 knee.

"'Sup master. So, where are we going today?" He spoke unenthusiastically, blowing a piece of gum as it popped on his lips, licking it back into his mouth as he continued chewing.

"To Kanirah, directly north from here. Full speed ahead, don't lose to anyone here," he commanded as he hopped on the boy's back, declaring to the rest of the group that it would be a race.

"Very well," in a sudden flash of light, the two zoomed forward at unspeakable speeds, spawning a colossal gust of wind from their departure.

In mere moments, the 2 were out of sight, all that could be seen was a reflection of white light straying in the horizon.

"Well, that was cheap. I guess we should get going too," Sho activated his flames and took off, followed by the rest of the group, except Rein, who stood behind, thinking about something Core said.

"B1..? Is that the replacement for the guy from back then?" He asked himself before beginning to run with the rest of the group, trying to test himself by not using any Springs to catch up.

The group made it to Kanirah in record time, all of them, except for Sho, arriving at about the same time. For some reason, Sho had de-activated his Spring when he approached the city, meaning that he slowed down from the rest of the group.

Rein could guess why he had done that but didn't call him out on it out of consideration for his position. Now that they were all present, they entered the city using their Ranger ID's, making their way to the guild branch so that they could register themselves under it, allowing them to take the quest properly.

Rein had also succeeded in his mission to sway the group away from Lifah.

After they had registered, they resumed their race, this time, to Haka. However, instead of using the main road, Sho suggested that they go out on the field, as to not inconvenience pedestrians. Rein agreed with his line of reasoning, recommencing their 'race' shortly after.

Bringing fierce gusts wherever they passed, they arrived at Haka within the minute.

It was a small, homely town in the middle of a vast, windy prairie. It appeared underdeveloped and poor, yet gave the sense of coziness and comfort that subconsciously captivated the group's senses.

When Sho finally arrived after them, he found them waiting at the road leading into the town. As the group peered their gazes into the town, the previous comforting aura that they felt turned to eariness that crept through their spine, making some of them shake with daunting unnerve.

Rein, who stood there unphased, heaved a step ahead of the group, setting his foot into the borders of the village, and continuing through fearlessly, followed by Clyde who also had a sense of fearlessness about him.

The two stopped and turned around to look at the other 4 who stayed planted outside the city, their feet stationary like a tree.

"Are you guys just gonna stand there all day or are you coming in?" Rein scratched his head as he addressed his teammates.

"*Ahem*, ladies first, no?" Sho nervously laughed, clearly showing fear through his reluctant actions.

"Where the hell'd that come from? Aren't men supposed to take the lead? You should go," Xenia quaked as she held onto Chloe's shoulders.

"H-how about we secure the perimeter of the city so we can see anyone being abducted. Y-you two can look inside without us," Chloe suggested apprehensively, the 3 of them beginning to back up slowly.

"Come on you scaredy cats. Just go in already!" Core heaved a push as he swept them in, startling them greatly from behind as they continued standing still at the entrance.

As they entered, they felt the sense of emptiness encasing the entire town, tumbleweeds rolling through the streets, the untended yellow grass around the road beginning to wither away in the weather. No life could be seen, all the windows of the houses shut tightly. To put it plainly, it was a ghost town.

"Ah hell, if you won't move, I guess we'll have to drag you. Here, grab on," Rein outstretched his arm to Chloe, who timidly took his hand, the fact that she wanted to hide their relationship not popping up in her jittery mind.

Rein dragged her into the empty town, feeling her hands cold sweat invade his.

"H-hey, Clyde. Would you mind i-if I held yours…" Xenia uttered, more scared than embarrassed.

"Of course. Grab on," he assured, holding out his hand behind his back as she grabbed onto it, the 2 following Rein and Chloe, leaving Core and Sho behind.

"Do you need me to hold your hand too, prince?" Core joked, which angered Sho more than he was scared.

"Hell no! I'll go myself," he angrily stormed towards the group in front of him, leaving the laughing Core to catch up.