Chapter 161: Shit out of Luck [Bonus]

[Bonus Chapter thanks to castle from BobTheEngineer <3]

Jaxir returned to Marr Town with a strange coin rolling between his fingers, though calling it a coin was odd when the thing was nearly twice the size of a normal one.

According to the shadow, all he had to do was hold it beneath moonlight and it would point him toward the Mage-level creature he needed to kill. Simple enough, except Divinity ran at the same pace as the outside world, which meant waiting for the moon was going to screw with his bedtime.

"Of course it needs moonlight," Jaxir grumbled as he pushed open the door to his house. "Couldn’t glow in the dark or point north like a normal magical compass." He was still staring irritably at the coin when several heads snapped toward him at once.

Jaxir stopped in the doorway and looked up to find Nick, Gavin, Malik, Mina, Niri and Elara gathered around a large floating screen in the dining room. A familiar silver-blue Cast streaked across the image just as Maelis smashed it apart with her spear, which made Jaxir’s lip twitch when he realized what they were watching.

"Weren’t you all out training?"

Nick turned toward him with an expression so calm that Jaxir immediately knew it wasn’t going to last.

"Jaxir, babe, baby, my darling, can you go outside without flipping the entire fucking world upside down just this once?" His voice climbed with every word until he was practically shouting the last part.

Jaxir closed the door behind himself and slipped the oversized coin into his Inventory.

"Did it look like I had a choice?" He walked toward the table while Nick made a sound beneath his breath that suggested this was somehow the wrong answer.

Gavin leaned back in his chair and dismissed the recording with a swipe of his hand. "What happened?"

His expression remained controlled, but the way everyone else had gone quiet made it obvious they hadn’t rushed back here merely to admire Jaxir’s fighting.

Jaxir glanced between them before the reason clicked into place. They should’ve still been training, which meant somebody had seen the recording, recognized Maelis, and decided whatever they were doing could wait. Apparently his little disagreement in the forest had traveled even faster than he had.

"If we’re going to work together, there are things we need to tell each other before they turn into problems for everyone," Gavin continued. "The String Quintet Guild deciding they personally hate you most definitely qualifies. This operation was already going to be difficult without people like them interfering." He folded his arms and waited.

Jaxir pulled out a chair and sat down. There wasn’t much point hiding the situation anymore when Maelis herself had already found him over it, so he explained what happened at the Velorian auction house and how the page he’d taken belonged to the String Quintet. By the time he finished, none of the government players looked particularly pleased.

Nick looked the least surprised, considering he’d warned Jaxir about this exact outcome days ago. Gavin exchanged a glance with Malik before his attention returned to Jaxir, while Mina’s expression had tightened the moment the original Tome page came up. Clearly, the government had enough information on the String Quintet to understand why Nick had wanted nothing to do with them.

"Give it back," Gavin told him. "Whatever the page is worth, it isn’t worth having that guild make our quest their problem." He didn’t soften the request or waste time dressing it up.

Jaxir chuckled and leaned farther into his chair. "No, I think I’m good."

There wasn’t much anger behind the answer. He had already considered that option when Nick suggested it, and his opinion hadn’t changed since. Plus, making him angry wasn’t exactly easy. He had a few reverse scales, and a strongly worded sentence wasn’t amongst them.

Gavin’s jaw tightened. "This is the problem with bringing outsiders into something like this, because you don’t understand how much more is riding on the guild quest than whatever you personally want out of it."

He stopped himself there, visibly swallowing whatever harsher version had nearly come out.

Jaxir’s eyebrow rose, but Gavin continued before he could respond. "We’re already going into a Legendary guild challenge where people can interfere, and if the String Quintet decides ruining our attempt is worth their time, we do not beat them in a straight contest. Not a chance"

"Maelis is the weakest of the six," Gavin continued. "Not because her talent is worse, but because she restarted her character after finding a valuable Legacy and has been rushing to catch back up ever since."

Nick nodded once from across the table, confirming at least that much.

"The others have deliberately slowed their Levels while they wait for her, so most of them are only sitting around the low thirties despite having had much longer to develop their abilities." Gavin tapped the table and a few names appeared on the screen, though Jaxir paid more attention to the numbers beside them. "They’ve spent that time grinding control instead."

Malik leaned forward with his forearms against his knees while Gavin continued. "Maelis is actually the weakest in that regard because she’s been prioritizing Levels, and even she’s incredibly close to Knight Commander." That caught Nick’s attention enough for him to stop slouching in his chair.

Knight Commander was the Melee Class equivalent of Archmage, which made Jaxir think back to just how little of Maelis’s actual combat ability he had allowed her to use. She had nearly killed him through raw speed and physical strength alone, while most of what made her exceptional had spent the fight being repeatedly strangled by Bind.

"Four of their members have already reached the equivalent of Archmage for their Classes, and Maelis is close enough that nobody expects her to stay behind for long." Gavin began counting them off with his fingers. "Two Magic Classes, one Tank, and two Melee Classes including Maelis."

Elara’s expression grew worse before Gavin even reached the last member. Nick muttered something Jaxir couldn’t quite hear and dragged a hand down his face, apparently knowing exactly where the explanation was going. Gavin looked toward Jaxir.

"The sixth, their leader, is a Healer-Mage dual Class." He paused, giving that much a moment to settle before continuing. "He’s Level 37, and he’s a Grand Archmage."

The room stayed quiet.

"Every one of his Magic Root Abilities is above Level 80," Gavin added. "That’s before whatever his Healer side gives him, whatever Legacy he’s carrying, and whatever equipment someone at his standing has accumulated." Nick leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling.

"This isn’t a group we can afford to piss off," Gavin finished. "Maelis being the weakest should tell you everything you need to know about what happens if the others start treating you as a priority." He held Jaxir’s gaze and waited for an answer.

Jaxir finally nodded, his expression thoughtful as he looked across the names floating above the table. A Level 37 Grand Archmage with Root Abilities above Level 80 sounded genuinely horrible, while four more people around Archmage equivalence made the entire group much more dangerous than Maelis had already proven herself to be.

But then one detail rose above everything else Gavin had just explained.

"That’s great and all, but the Level cap on our guild challenge is 20." Jaxir’s mouth slowly curled into a grin as Gavin’s expression froze. "Sounds like they’re shit out of luck to me."