An Owl's Rise

Flying through the hazy air, Evelyn followed behind Lizlul and soon enough spotted a large structure that looked to be smoldering in many places.

As they got closer, she was able to make out the building better and noticed that it was shaped like a tortoise's shell.

"That's the fortress I am currently based at. It normally looks better than it does right now, but we just finished repelling a wave of fire elementals and it took some damage in the attack." Lizlul explained to Evelyn.

A minute later, the two of them landed outside of the giant fortress, and Lizlul confidently walked inside with Evelyn trailing behind her.

The entrance and hallway that they walked through was truly massive and was at least forty meters tall and sixty meters wide.

Even Evelyn, who was around two meters tall, felt tiny in this place and she soon found out why the place was as large as it was.

Under her feet she felt the ground shaking as a massive tortoise that was over twenty meters tall came bounding down the hall.

Like Lizlul, this tortoise was a tyrant rank beast, though either he did not want to take a humanoid form or was not capable of it.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long to return Lizlul, but I see that you brought along a guest. Is she a friend of yours?"

"No, she is the friend of a different Ranger, but she has some interesting alchemical items on her that she has offered to trade with me, so I brought her along. She's also the one that took out the fire elementals I was sent after. I can attest to her abilities despite being only a peak awakened beast. We won't have to worry about her getting into any trouble."

"Now if you would not mind standing aside Guzum, I want to report back to Yulbok." Lizlul said in a forceful tone.

For just a moment the other tortoise looked down at Evelyn with a disapproving look but did get out of their way as Lizlul asked.

After that, Lizlul took Evelyn further into the fortress.

Because of how large the place was, it took them nearly a half hour to reach their destination due to the unhurried pace they were going at.

When they reached a certain set of large doors, Lizlul just stood in front of it and waited silently.

Evelyn could only tilt her head to the side at this in confusion. Clearly this was their destination, but she had no idea why Lizlul made no attempt to enter or even knock on the door to announce her presence.

For around three minutes they simply stood there in silence, and just when Evelyn was about to speak up, she heard a voice from beyond the door.

"You may come in now."

Now that she had permission, Lizlul walked up to the giant doors and pushed them open. A feat that looked incredibly strange since she was far smaller than the doors and a normal person would not have the strength to make them budge.

Once inside, Evelyn's eyes were drawn to the back of the room where a large bald man that had the build of a pro wrestler was sitting at the back of them room at a desk that had several sheets of paper stack on top of it. Upon closer inspection she could see that his eyes were inhuman and that there were scales on both of his hands that clearly proved he was a beast.

There were other tortoises in the room as well, some in humanoid form and others that were not.

Still, the man at the back was the one that held Evelyn's attention since she could tell he was the strongest individual present and definitely the leader of this fortress.

'He's suppressing his magical aura so I can't tell exactly what tier he is at, but there is no doubt he is a sovereign rank beast.'

Evelyn kept her guard up now that she was surrounded by several tortoises that were stronger than her. So far, she had not sensed any hostility from any of them, but she was prepared to defend herself and flee if need be.

"Lizlul, I would normally tell you that now is not the time to bring in an outsider whether they are a friend or not, but I imagine that you did not bring this owl here to me for a simple reason. What is it you are here for?" Yulbok, the Head Ranger of this fortress said.

"First allow me to introduce her. This is Evelyn, a friend of Krunnen. While I was pursuing the group of fire elementals that had slipped past us, I witnessed her use some unknown alchemical items to easily dispatch them. I was intrigued so I asked her to trade me some samples and the recipes for the items."

Looking intrigued now, Yulbok glanced at Evelyn appraisingly before turning his attention back towards Lizlul.

"I see. These alchemical items must have been quite spectacular if you decided to bring her before me. But I must wonder what it is you agreed upon to trade her that required you to come before me? Especially when we are all so busy with the current situation."

Lizlul tensed up at this but continued. She was certain that the deal she had made with Evelyn was favorable for the Inferno Field Rangers.

Quickly she went over the details of her agreement with Evelyn.

Yulbok sat in his chair looking contemplative, before eventually turning his full attention to Evelyn.

"I assume that you are fine with these terms. Do note, other than a place to rest and provisions, that you will not be getting any other assistance from us. We do not have the resources to look after you on the battlefield. There is a very real chance you will die out there. Many of the creatures we have to deal with are beyond what awakened rank beasts can handle."

"I already came here prepared to fight through the entirety of the Inferno Field on my own. Whether you give me any assistance in battle is of no concern to me. The only reason I am here is because I determined it faster to rely on your intelligence than search for my target on my own.

If you prove to be more of a hinderance to me than a boon, I will simply leave and do what I must on my own." Evelyn said, her expression resolute.

Seeing her demeanor, Yulbok could not help but smile and let out a jovial chuckle.

"You certainly have plenty of guts, which I personally like. Now we will only need to see if you have the skills to match up that confidence."

"Lizlul, you will be in charge of keeping watch of her while she is here and finding her some quarters she can stay in. Be ready to fight at any time. There is no telling when those fire elementals will be back. For the time being, though, go see Bazo and give him those alchemical items and recipes.

If they are really as good as you say, I want them mass produced as soon as possible." Yulbok said, relaying his orders to Lizlul.

"As for you, Evelyn. Welcome to the frontlines against the fire elementals. I will make sure that you have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself and obtain what you came here for."