I'm handing out these chapters like candy during Halloween Night.

Forian was a small village located south-east of the capital. It was a village that was wholly focused on agriculture. The village was surrounded by fields of a fruit called Foria, a sweet fruit that had the shape of a sphere and was pink on the outside and blue on the inside.

This fruit was not only loved by humans but also the creatures of the forest. Many of times, they would have to call Questers to come exterminate the creatures that had begun to eat their crops.

The Quest Erebus received was one of those. A gryphon had decided that it enjoyed the taste of the Foria fruit and now wouldn’t let the villagers get near their fields to harvest.

Erebus was now staring down said gryphon. The gryphon was injured, Erebus realised this instantly. It had a limp in its walk and blood on its great wings. Something had injured the gryphon, which would make it difficult for it to hunt.

So, the gryphon decided to survive off of something it didn’t have to hunt.

That much was obvious within five minutes of entering the village. Even Erebus felt slight (very slight) remorse for having to kill the creature that was just trying to survive.

Thus, the two enemies charged at each other. Erebus wielding his dual-blades, and the gryphon wielding claws sharp enough to cut through metal like butter.

Erebus swung his sword and proceeded to take one of the gryphon’s wings. The creature shrieked in pain and drew back, blood now gushing from where its wing was normally attached.

Erebus hadn’t been aiming for the wing, he was aiming for its head. But the gryphon had managed to avoid the sure death by twisting its body.

The gryphon glared at Erebus. Erebus glared back.

“Could you just die already? You’re wasting my time,” Erebus said in a different language. It was the language that all the magic races used.

The gryphon made what could be a noise of surprise. How did this human know their language? No... this ‘human’ had been giving off strange vibes the entire time.

Could it be... you aren’t human? the gryphon made use of its telepathy.

Erebus’ answer was a shrug. “No matter what I am, I am going to complete this Quest. You are my enemy,” he said in the musical sounding language.

The gryphon, upon hearing that, attempted to stand tall with pride. Then let us fight, strange human.

The two charged at each other again, and this time, one died. Erebus' swords cleaved the beast cleanly in half.

The gryphon, like all other monsters, upon death, disintegrated into a pile of shimmering dust that was blown away by the wind.

Erebus wiped the blood of the gryphon off his face. “Thank you for your sacrifice,” this time he spoke in neither magic race nor human tongue, instead it was the first language: the language of dragons.

The villagers who had been watching the two fight, now came out of their homes to thank Erebus for his duty.

“It’s no problem,” Erebus said after being thanked profusely by them. One man had even gone so far to kowtow in front of Erebus.

“Please, accept our gifts,” a woman begged, holding out a small chest that fit in the palm of both her hands.

Erebus shook his head. “I didn’t do anything that deserves any more than the reward the Guild will give me.”

“I see,” the woman lowered her hands.

“Goodbye.” Erebus nodded his head slightly before leaving them.

Erebus, the moment he got out of their sight, began to run at a speed that left him invisible to the untrained eye. He had no time to waste with travel, he had to get to Tier 5 within three days. No, in less than three days.

That way he could prove that he could get to Tier 5 in three days but faster than that. Yes, that would surely show Mur his place.

Erebus slowed down to a normal jogging place when he reached the Capital within ten minutes of leaving Forian. The guards greeted Erebus with kindness and asked if the Quest went well.

After exchanging pleasantries with the guards, Erebus quickly made his way to the Guild to turn in the Quest.

Miranda opened her eyes in surprise. “You’re fast.”

Erebus responded with his signature move. “Haha, I try to be.”

“You guys are really efficient, Vyne and Tear did a few Quest on their own, too. Do you guys even sleep?”

“Of course we do!”

A round of applause Erebus for lying straight through his teeth.

Miranda gave Erebus the monetary reward with a smile. “If you guys do six more Quest at this speed, you’ll be Tier 5.”

Six more, huh, Erebus thought. “Wow! Time sure does fly,” he said.

“Indeed. Good luck, Erebus,” Miranda spoke encouraging words that had no effect on him.

Erebus nodded his thanks before exiting the Guild. He would have to pat Vyne and Tear on the head for working hard later on.

Tear, as if she sensed praise from her master, began to work even faster. She was currently doing a Quest asking for the claws of a Tornid Bear. She had accepted this particular Quest because it was something called a ‘repeatable’. Basically, if a quest required ten of something, and you brought in thirty. You would bring in 3x the reward. That being said, there was a maximum for how many times you could do it, and the rewards were lower than an average Quest.

Repeatables were extremely rare. Along with their rareness, they were quickly snatched off the Board if they were seen. Tear had to knock a few Questers out in order to get the Quest.

The repeatable she was doing currently had a maximum of four. She was currently filling the quota needed for three.

On the other side of the forest, Vyne was gathering a plant that only bloomed during the third month. The only reason why it was a Tier 4 Quest was because it was pretty deep within the forest.

The trio was simply put, amazing. Even though the tasks they were doing seemed mundane, they were things that most Questers couldn’t do solo.

Yet they completed them easily. And by the second day, they were one Quest away from being Tier 5.

A monumental occasion. Not only for them but for the Questers. No one had ever gotten Tier 5 within such a short amount of time.

Tear, Erebus, and Vyne were currently examining the Quest Board. Erebus pulled the Quest off the board. It required them to kill Terror rank monster in the forest.

“Let’s do it,” Erebus said, removing the Quest from the Board.

The trio exited the Guild, unaware of the amazed stares that were focused on them.

Once again, for the umpteenth time within the span of two days, the guards said goodbye to the trio of Questers.

Tear laughed. “For that human to underestimate our master. He will learn of his ignorance very soon.”

“It saddens me that I wasn’t allowed to play him.” Vyne had such a saddened expression on his face.

Erebus, ignoring both of them, began to move at his high speed once more, he had no time to waste.

That child would learn. He wasn’t driven by the urge to kill all those who defied him like his subordinates were. No, he needed the child to live in shame. To know that he was inferior.

That was what Erebus wanted.

Those who defied him always made the sleeping rage in him awaken ever so slightly.

“It is here, my lord.” Vyne stopped moving.

In the clearing a few meters from them, a large creature was feasting. Its fur was completely red and it had two thick arms that reached the ground. The creatures elongated body was hunched over so it wasn’t possible to see its face.

Tear raised her bow. “I will take care of it, Lord Erebus.”

“No, allow me.” Vyne stepped up.

Erebus sighed. He didn’t feel like dealing with either of them so he raised his hand and the Terror rank creature was sucked into itself. Leaving a swirling sphere of darkness in its place.

“Amazing,” Tear said softly. She had only seen her master’s magic a few times before but the silent destruction never ceased to amaze her.

His magic didn’t make any noise, it didn’t have any presence. It just appeared and death followed.

She felt a shiver run down her spine. Vyne, too, stared at the sphere with a mix of admiration and fear.

“We’re heading back,” Erebus turned his head to stare at the two, his expression completely blank.

The two dropped down to their knees, bowing their heads. “Yes, Lord Erebus.”