Chapter 312 The Quest Starts!

Penumbra consisted of a couple of buildings next to each other. The building Lee Seng and the group were in was considered the 'Guild Center.' This was where all of the Guild members did their inquiries on Quests and socializing. Zane was taking them up to the third floor. The third floor was the start of telepads. Because of the limited amount of space, Penumbra kept the bones of an old corporate building together and worked around it.

Penumbra guild members moved around the third floor as the elevator door opened. People greeted Zane and looked at the Academy students behind him. They all watched as Lee Seng and the group stepped out. Some instantly recognized Lee Seng and greeted him.

"You actually got into the Academy!" A buff man chuckled. "That's good! Going on a mission with the Academy today?"

"Yeah," Lee Seng nodded. "I should keep up. Don't got a lot of time. Let's catch up another time!" The two waved as Lee Seng picked up speed to catch up to his group and Zane.

"He's Lee Seng Chang?" A female asked the buff man. The buff man nodded. The small group of people looked at Lee Seng slowing down and following the group of students.

"He's changed so much." Another female commented as they all started to shuffle into the elevator. "I could barely recognize him."

"Didn't you know he's like that now?" The first woman asked.

"No. I don't read celebrity gossip. Plus, the CEO would be mad if we were indulging in his younger brother's affairs."

"That he would." The buff man chuckled as they all began to hit their floor buttons.

Zane led them into an area that was temporarily blocked off for Academy usage. He slipped under the rope and motioned for everyone to follow him.

"Use whatever telepad you want. These are all reserved for the Academy today." Zane told them. Manny and Liz led the group to the first available telepad room and stepped inside. They all filtered onto the telepad and turned to face Zane as he shut the door and moved over to the group. "You'll use this to get there and back. We'll need it back after you're done with your quest, alright?"

Zane handed Manny a phone with Penumbra's Guild symbol on it. It was three curved black lines with smoke billowing out on the bottom.

"Use this to get there and back, got it." Manny nodded. Zane nodded and made his way back to the door. He turned around and leaned his back onto the door.

"That's all from me. Good luck on your quest and if you should ever need to ping us for any emergencies, use the Guild phone." Zane reminded them.

"Alright." Manny nodded. He turned the phone on and noticed it was already preconfigured with the teleportation to the site.

"Good luck, Zephyr." Zane gave a two-fingered salute as Manny hit the button.

The smell of overwhelming dirt and the noises of people moving about was the first thing Lee Seng noticed. The light pulled downwards into the telepad. The group took in their surroundings, Guild members of Penumbra moving past them like they were used to people appearing.

"Alright, I guess we should get in touch with whoever's in charge?" Manny asked. The group nodded and they all filtered out of the telepad tent.

"Woah, this place is different now. It looks like an actual place now." Evan casually commented.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Olivia nodded. "I wonder if Victoria is still in charge here."

"Ah, the Academy students!" A female voice called out. Lee Seng and the group turned their attention to the right. A big woman jollily waved at them. Olivia's face immediately lit up.

"Ah, Miss Victoria! You're still here!" Olivia waved. Olivia and Evan led the way for the group towards Victoria. Victoria was a big woman who was wearing black and gray gear. A pistol was strapped to her side. She wore combat boots and had her hair under a cap.

"Ah, they said I'd be getting some help from Academy students, I didn't think it'd be students who were here months ago!" Victoria chuckled as shook Evan's hand and gave Olivia a squeeze.

"I didn't think we'd meet again so soon." Evan spoke up.

"When I heard Penumbra was going to accept the Academy's proposal, I thought this would be an interesting time. The invasions from the goblins and shifters have been inconsistent for nearly a month now, so what would we need help with?" Victoria moved and looked at the huge hole near the middle of the forest. "We had to clear a large area of trees since the hole was in an awkward spot, but I thought we would be fine with our Guild members.

"Turns out there's some annoyances on the early floors of the large cavern systems. I would divert the teams who are underneath, but our attention is needed on the lower floors at the moment. I'm glad you guys are here." Victoria explained the situation.

"So, we're aiding some workers to light the area?" Olivia asked.

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "Most of the areas are already lit, but the area you're going to help the technical workers as they check the recently attacked. There's reports of goblins at the end of that path, so I would like it if you could clear out any bothersome enemies as well."

"Vic!" A male voice called behind the group. Victoria's eyes moved past the group and onto the man. He was in Penumbra colors with armor strapped over him.

"What do you want, Ramirez?" Victoria asked.

"Team G hasn't returned to the surface. It's been longer than the specified time limit. What do we do?" Ramirez asked. Victoria sighed and nodded.

"Did we lose their connection? They're on floor 8, right?" Victoria asked.

"Yes, ma'am. They're on floor 8. The connection is stuck in a single spot for the last hour. I'm not sure if something has happened to them, but we need someone to go down there."

"Alright… Is Tiger around?"

"Tiger's napping."

"Ah," Victoria sighed. "He hasn't had time to rest for the last two weeks… Let's do this. Take the Team Zephyr to briefing with the workers who Zephyr will be working with. Get them set up, I'll deal with Tiger and we can figure out what we're doing with Team G."

p "Yes, ma'am." Ramirez nodded.

"Alright, my dears. I have to figure out this sudden problem, so I'll excuse myself first. Please follow Ramirez to the briefing and get acquainted with the techs you'll be working with. If I don't make it back in time, Ramirez, you can take them to gear up and get them ready to descend."

"Yes, ma'am. Leave it to me." With that, Victoria waved the students goodbye and moved to find Tiger. The group turned to Ramirez. He gave them all a nod.

"I'm Ed Ramirez. Everyone calls me Ramirez. Follow me." Ramirez motioned. He led Zephyr to one of the many large white tents. He stepped in greeting everyone in the tent with a, "Hello." Lee Seng led the way in, grabbing the attention of everyone in the tent. "This is the group that'll be guiding you into Zone 1R."

"Ah, hello, hello!" A woman happily greeted. She and the rest of the group turned to look at the group coming in and realized Lee Seng had a tail and ears.

"Oh hell no." One of the men spoke louder than he thought he would. Lee Seng stepped off to the side and allowed the rest of his teammates to step in.

"Isn't that–" A man started to point when the woman quickly swatted his hand.

"Now, now. They're our help for today's expedition." The woman told them.

"We're getting high school students? Are they even good?"

"W-well!" The woman quickly cut off the man's question. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Lisa. This one is John and that one is Caleb. Tiffi and Markus will be working with us, too, but they'll be handling comms up here."

"Hello." Lee Seng and the group waved.

"I'm Manny." Manny introduced. "We're team Zephyr and this is Lee Seng, Ritsuka, Olivia, Evan, and Liz. We've been dispatched by Penumbra. We're with the Academy."

"Ahh, they are Academy students!" John loudly exclaimed. "See? I knew they wouldn't be able to give us an actual guild team! We're so screwed!"

"John, stop it. This isn't a hard mission. It's just some goblins." Tiffi reminded him. "They'll be watching your back while you work on the light system below."

"But–"

"Alright, stop complaining, John." Ramirez clapped his hands. "Penumbra wouldn't hire anybody who couldn't handle a mission like this. It's a low Silver mission with some mere Goblins. As long as Shifters don't show up, you'll be okay."

"The comms said Shifters just showed up, though!"

"You should know," Ritsuka stepped out to the front. He pointed at Lee Seng. "He's killed a Shifter all by himself."

"Really? Aren't Shifter necks really hard to cut?" Markus asked.

"Mmm, they are." Lee Seng nodded. All of the techs looked at him. "They probably have the toughest necks. Cut it like butter, though." Lee Seng mimicked the swing.

"He's pretty cocky, isn't he?" John whispered.

"John!" Lisa slapped him. "You're being rude! They're only here to help!"