Mission to Tangea

Grace's mission to Tangea followed her Mission to Natrice and was Grace's first experience with an awakened being.

Grace received orders from Rae that she would participate in a real awakened hunt and learned that Voracious eaters was only the term for the humans to call awakened beings. Rae advised her to part with Eliah, saying it would be fatal for her to be involved in a hunt and notified her that Apsley, her handler, had recovered and would give her missions from now on. Having a day to find Eliah a new home, Grace did nothing to give away Eliah, instead spending time with her. Both Grace and Eliah encountered the Apex eagles led by Karlow and got away by using gold as a distraction. Grace was pursued by a few bandits but easily overwhelmed them with nonlethal force. Grace entered the meeting point to find that the rest of the hunting party wasn't there. Eliah helped her find them in the forest, having already started their mission. The members of the party, Rae, Valerie, and Sheena were uncomfortable in Eliah's presence but Rae allowed it because Eliah was with Grace. Valerie forced Eliah to sleep away from her and made Eliah cry. Grace comforted Eliah, sleeping with her and covering her with her cloak in the rain while Eliah covered her with her wings without her knowledge. While in the canyon, Valerie told grace to leave the group and sneak-attack the awakened being, wanting to make her look like a coward since she would get lost in the canyon. They stumbled across the awakened being in the canyon and Rae quickly stabbed it after a slip of the mouth gave it away. It proposed an offer to join the vanguards, having revealed that he was given new purpose by them, but was turned down. The being crushed Valerie's bones to knock her out and deeply cut Sheena in the abdomen. He grabbed Rae and stabbed her with spears from his arms, defeating her. Grace had gotten lost but quickly found her way after forcing the awakened being's yoma to tell her his location. She jumped down on him and scared him since he couldn't sense her. When he asked if she really was a lowly rank 45 warrior, she attacked him, cutting his arm and torso in half and drowning him. The mission piqued Rae's interest in Grace, creating a mutual friendship, and also started her off on discovering who the vanguards were. Grace left with Eliah again after Eliah had devoured nearby yoma in secret.