The experience pool was empty. Leveling up a multiclass required twice the experience, and raising his Fighter level to 4 would take another 5,400 experience points. He still had a long way to go.
He was multiclassing mainly to improve his base attributes and shore up a few weaknesses. Until he reached Legendary rank, Sorcerer would remain his primary class.
After familiarizing himself with his newly enhanced abilities, Anser had lunch with Bratt at the Black Tower restaurant.
That afternoon, he had planned to continue hunting. But when he opened the party bulletin board, he found a message Osborn had left for him.
Evan had arrived with a friend and wanted to visit, so Osborn urged him to return as soon as possible.
That was the downside of communicating through the shared Party Storage. It wasn't as if he could check it every few dozen minutes.
He immediately cast Sending on Osborn to ask whether Evan had arrived. After learning they had just gotten there, he hurriedly Teleported back to the Rock of Bral.
Osborn was already waiting for him at the stone building. The moment Anser returned, he led him straight to Nefis's courtyard.
Five people were seated in the modest living room. Three were from the Magic Research Society: Nefis, Mason, and the Level 18 barbarian named Travolta. The other two were Priest Evan and an unfamiliar human woman.
"Anser, this is my friend Kristin from the Emerald Enclave," Evan said with an affectionate smile, standing very close to the woman.
"Nice to meet you." Anser nodded in greeting as he quietly sized her up.
Kristin was quite beautiful, though her attire had a distinctly wild flair. Her hair was braided into numerous small plaits woven with colorful ribbons, then tied into long twin ponytails that gave her a vibrant appearance.
She wore a fur bandeau on top, a short skirt and leather boots below, leaving large stretches of her bronze skin exposed. Her style felt almost primitive.
"Wow, you've got a lot of killing intent on you. Let me smell..." Kristin stepped closer, wrinkled her nose, and sniffed the air around him. "You reek of Underdark vermin."
"You're perceptive." Without changing his expression, Anser casually took a step sideways to widen the distance between them. "I just got back from Baldur's Gate."
Nefis frowned. "By yourself?"
She knew Anser's home was in Baldur's Gate, but she had never imagined he would be reckless enough to venture alone into the surface stronghold of the Underdark creatures. There was more than one Chosen of an evil god there.
"Just scouting the situation," Anser replied vaguely, unwilling to explain further.
"Now that's a real man!" Kristin declared with one hand on her hip, her face full of admiration.
"What are you talking about? That was incredibly dangerous." Evan grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back toward her seat.
Anser's gaze shifted between the two of them. He had already noticed the unmistakable intimacy lingering between them.
The die gave a slight tremble, and a status window appeared.
Kristin of the Emerald Enclave, Human, Level 20 Druid (Circle of the Moon)]
'Hoh!' Anser exclaimed inwardly.
As expected of a bishop of the Church of Selûne. Even his friends were extraordinary. In just a few days, he had managed to bring in a great druid standing at the pinnacle of humanity.
Druids possessed Wild Shape. Even if their spellcasting was restricted, their combat ability was still formidable.
"Priest Evan, we've only just arrived. We'd like to hear the latest developments," Nefis said, deliberately steering the conversation away from Anser.
"The situation isn't looking good. Second Prince Emmanuel has found more allies..." Evan's expression turned grave as he tightened his grip on his staff.
According to reliable intelligence, Bane's Chosen had gained two powerful reinforcements.
One was the Zhentarim. One of its most important leaders had once been a priest of Bane, and after Bane's powerful return, the two had joined forces once again.
The other was the Chosen of Loviatar, the Maiden of Pain, who was currently staying in the Upper City's Temples District.
Whether by design or by coincidence, this Chosen was staying extremely close to Evan, just within the range of his divine senses, making every moment a torment for him.
On top of that, both the Church of Bane and Amn likely had additional reinforcements hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Anser's thoughts stirred as he recalled everything he knew about Loviatar.
Loviatar was also known as the Willing Whip, the Scourge Mistress, and Patroness of Torturers. Her temples were few, but she had more followers than one might expect, and they frequently cooperated with Bane's faithful.
Generally speaking, wherever slavery existed, followers of Loviatar were sure to be found. Over time, they had formed a secretive cult, and many thrill-seeking nobles became deeply entangled in it as well.
"What are you planning to do?" Nefis asked quietly after a moment of silence.
"What about you? I want to know the Magic Research Society's position." Evan stroked his staff as he fixed Nefis with an intense gaze.
"The Magic Research Society is a neutral organization. We do not casually interfere in conflicts between churches and nobles. We only came here to help Society Member Anser stabilize the Teleportation Circle," Nefis declared with a perfectly straight face, spouting utter nonsense.
"Oh~" There was no way Evan believed her.
Still, he knew the Magic Research Society needed a sufficiently compelling reason to enter the conflict. Anser's personal grudge against Bane's Chosen alone was not enough.
Then a thought struck him, and he suddenly remembered the rumor he had heard that day: the Magic Research Society had snatched an Artifact right out from under someone else's nose, and one of the aggrieved parties seemed to be Amn's Cowled Wizards.
Considering the Chosen of Azuth they had encountered last time as well, he suspected the Magic Research Society was merely observing the situation for now, waiting for the right opportunity to step in.
After a moment of thought, he said, "I've already contacted the Cozar royal family. They have mobilized every watchman, royal guard, court wizard, and unit of their land and naval forces. They can launch a counterattack at any time and tie down the enemy's main forces."
"I will join forces with the church's knightly order and our various allies to launch a surprise attack, kill the Chosen of the evil gods, and once that happens, their armies will collapse without a fight..."
Evan's plan was not particularly sophisticated, but it was efficient and practical.
Many different factions were involved this time, and even he could not clearly determine the backgrounds and allegiances of all those adventurers. Any overly complicated strategy would likely be difficult to coordinate and execute.
"Mm." Nefis acknowledged him without expressing any opinion.
Anser felt an itch to join in just from listening. He did not want to miss a large-scale group battle like this. Simply tagging along and contributing a little might be enough for him to level up, and killing a Chosen would be even better.
Besides, as the one who had issued the bounty, joining the battle over a personal grudge could hardly be more justified.
"Anser, come find me in the Temples District if you run into any difficulties. I should head back now. Emmanuel has been backed into a corner, and something could happen at any moment." Seeing his reaction, Evan warmly patted Anser on the shoulder.
As long as Anser and his friends participated, that would be enough. The Magic Research Society had been an unexpected development from the start.
"All right." Anser stood and saw them out.
Just as the two were about to disappear around the corner, the female druid suddenly looked back and secretly winked at him.
Anser's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
"That woman doesn't have the best reputation," Nefis remarked pointedly.
"Evan doesn't know?"
"..." Nefis merely smiled without answering.
Anser pursed his lips, genuinely unsure what to say.
Nefis casually closed the door behind them, then looked at him with shimmering eyes. "The Chosen of Azuth is staying with you?"
"Yes. Her name is Brunhilde." Anser had not expected Nefis to know already and simply never bring it up. "I didn't have her permission before, so I couldn't exactly go around telling everyone."
"What do you think of her?"
"She's a decent person and quite capable, but she isn't particularly careful in how she handles things."
"Bring her here. Staying with you will only cause trouble for you."
"That's true."
Anser did not waste any time. He returned directly to Fort Jacqueline and brought both Brunhilde and Stoll back with him.
The main reason he left Iris behind was that there were too many powerful enemies here. The number of peak-level professionals might even exceed ten, making it far too dangerous.
She was quite efficient at hunting in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, so there was no need for her to put herself at risk.
He asked Stoll to help guard the Teleportation Circle, while Nefis took Brunhilde away with her.
Clearly, the two sides were about to enter into a secret collaboration involving the gods themselves.
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