Christoph hadn’t realized it when he first stepped into this world, but archery is something which most adventurers have no good use for. He’d seen many bows, of course, but it was not the adventurers who wielded them. The reason for this bias lay within the purpose of the guild itself. To put it simply, the adventurers existed to fight monsters.

In both the Kingdom of the Creator and the Sanguine Empire, the knights patrolled the lands, and monsters were the only reason that the guild existed. Quests to gather items, quests to travel places, all these things would be completed by ordinary citizens if there were no such creatures in the area. It was only within the Plains of Manitas that the guild took on such unremarkable jobs, and there were not many adventurers who lived their life out in the desert. More often than not, Manitas City had been a destination for those with money to spare, an alluring place of food and coin.

The way this affected the adventurers’ choice of weapon was simple – bows were incredibly ineffective against creatures much larger than a person. Even if the arrows were poisoned, it took great strength to pierce the hides of such monsters, and two-handed weapons were more prevalent as a result. On the other hand, bows were extremely effective at killing one target in particular. People, and adventurers in particular.

Eschewing the plate armor of the knights, adventurers relied on thicker but less confining equipment to fight the beasts. Both heavy and light armor were considered the staple pick of an adventurer, and plate armor saw less use as a consequence. It was for this reason that the pirates and bandits of the area relied on their bows when preying on members of the guild. Enchanted weapons and armor were different, of course, but such arms were far too expensive to be scattered throughout the lands.

In this world, the bow was not a sign of the hunter, but rather a killer, while plate armor represented those who opposed such murderers. If an adventurer ever met someone wearing plate or carrying a bow, they recognized them as someone experienced at fighting not monsters, but people. Cliff of the Creator’s Blessed had been the favourite of many in Lord Benvolio’s tournament for this very reason, despite being a relative unknown within the city walls.

…

“You’re pretty confident for an archer who doesn’t have a bow.” Stepping down from the golem he was standing on, Christoph returned Quester’s grin. “Did I ever tell you how much I hate arrows?”

Sweeping his hands out, Christoph forced a burst of mana into his dual enchantments. If his opponent was stupid enough to carry grenades into a fight with a flamethrower, he’d just detonate them right then and there! Closing his eyes, he let the flames wash out over the ice for barely a moment.

“Too predictable.” Quester’s whisper pierced through the roaring blaze, the adventurer’s knife stabbing into his leg once more.

Slicing out with his sword, Christoph cut nothing but air as his opponent sailed away. Had Quester only had one of the grenades to begin with? No, he could see a few of them lying in the water nearby. He’d thrown them away! Christoph had been careful not to release any of the golems with his flames, but the ice-water covering the ground only made it harder to stand. The golems, on the other hand, were struggling in their frigid bonds. Between trying to hop from each statue to the next, or trying to ski on the icy surface of the platform, which choice was correct?

“Give me a break, already,” Christoph said, splashing down onto the watery surface of the ice. “What kind of bullshit is this anyway?”

It was Quester who went on the offensive this time, striking out at Christoph before he could adjust to the unfamiliar terrain. Unleashing a flurry of blows from both his weapons, he wasn’t able to cut his opponent, but succeeded in pushing him back across the ice. Capitalizing on his newfound momentum, the adventurer threw his dagger at the world traveller’s leg, drawing another poisoned blade from his belt to replace it.

Jerking his leg away, Christoph realized his mistake as Quester kicked out at his opposite knee. A straight kick? How did he have the footing to even stand in the first place? The booted foot crashed into his knee as the leg was straightened in retreat, and Christoph felt his ligaments tear at the crystal bones were bent in reverse.

How was he losing? Re-writing the runes on his left arm as he fell, he splashed a wave of ice-water up towards his opponent. Before the water could fall, he poured mana into his left hand, activating the spellform for ‘ice’ and casting the projectile away. Striking out with his large knife, Quester burst through the water before it could fully freeze, knocking the premature missile aside.

“Amateur,” Quester said with a grin, slashing out at Christoph’s half-fallen form. Slicing into his target’s arm, he felt the blade stop against the abnormally rigid bones, the two men sliding apart from the force of the blow. “You might have been able to beat me when you’d only had your strength, but not any more.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Christoph knew the answer even without receiving a response. The way Quester moved, the way he fought, the way he always seemed to be barely out of reach or passing by… he was someone who had forged his skilled by fighting against opponents more skilled than he was. Sparring was common practise among the adventurers, but battles to the death were on an entirely different level. When Christoph expected him to go left, he would go right. When he expected an attack, Quester would feint instead. For this fight, the experience he had accumulated over his travels only served to hasten his defeat.

Rising to his feet, Christoph kicked out his legs, feeling the tendons pulling back into position, his hunger welling up anew. After this, he might just gorge on the crystals he had saved and to hell with the quest. Drawing his other sword, he smiled over at the adventurer’s wicked grin. Kicking off the golems around him, he re-absorbed his swords and hurtled towards his opponent on all fours, rising up to tackle him down onto the ice below.

“How’s this for training?” Gritting his teeth, Christoph ignored Quester’s counter-attacks and grasped at the collar of his shirt. Straddling the adventurer’s body, he beat at his exposed face, shifting his left hand to clutch at the man’s soft neck. “A problem? A PROBLEM? First you shoot me and leave me to die, then you try to get me executed, then you stab me, and now you’re trying to kill Emilia too? DO YOU THINK I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?”

A hand closed around his arm, and Christoph blinked up at where Coin was kneeling beside him. His fingers twitched, and he felt the familiar handle of a hammer in his fist. The translucent head dripped dully in the dim light, and he could see a tinge of crimson layering over the crystalline tool.

“That’s enough,” Coin said, steam rising from his mouth with every breath. “What are you going to do when Regal wakes up to find you’ve killed her fiance?”

“Regal?” Christoph glanced down at Quester ruined face, stumbling back off of his motionless form to shiver in the water nearby. That’s right, Regal had been lying down nearby, right? If Ruth hadn’t left her side even to interrupt the fight, that meant-

“This isn’t Quester fault to begin with,” Coin said, splashing down onto the ice. Next to him, Lily trembled in rage. “He was just angry there was nothing he could do. It’s not Regal’s fault, either. She pushed herself to the edge waiting for us to get clear. I wouldn’t have even been in the middle of the golems if you hadn’t brought the Elemental heart straight to them in the first place.”

“The heart?” Christoph frowned, letting the short form of the hammer flow back into his arm. “What does-”

“The golems are here to bring it back to life,” Coin said, eyes hardening as he spoke. “If you don’t even know that much, how can you call yourself a gold ranker? You can’t just burst into someone else’s fight and blame them when you end up getting hurt. How could you drop your wards like that? What were you thinking?”

“I-” Christoph blinked back at the spearman, glancing between Quester’s bloodied face and Lily’s hateful stare. He’d dropped his shields to break free from the golems’ blockade. “I just-”

“I liked you, but we didn’t need your help,” Coin said. “Not until you made a mess of everything. I’m thankful for your aid, but we would have been just fine without you. Next time, stick to protecting your companions.”

“Thank you.” It was Lily who spoke this time, teeth clenched as she bowed her head to him, blonde hair matting over her face. “Thank you for helping me save Coin. Never show your face to us again.”

…

“Was that okay?” Coin asked, watching Christoph’s skimmer disappear back towards the small mining town. “Did we do the right thing?”

“He almost beat Quester to death,” Lily said, staring over the fire at her brother’s bedroll. “We should have killed him then and there.”

“He thought we’d done the same,” Coin replied, falling back next to the sorcerer. “It was close, wasn’t it?”

“You’re the one who almost died.” Lying down beside him, Lily tried to release the tension in her bones. “Remind me why we’re still together.”

“It’s because I love you,” Coin said, wrapping an arm around her in the flickering firelight. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“I could have saved you, you know?” Returning his embrace, Lily felt her vision begin to blur. “I’m sure I could have saved you.”

“That’s right.” Kissing her on the forehead, Coin held her as she began to sob. “I was never really in any danger at all, was I? You’ll always be there to save me.”

…

“How are you feeling?” Snapping off a portion of hard biscuit, Ruth offered the snack to the small mage beside him. “You really gave it your all today.”

“This is nothing,” Regal replied. “I’m fine, so how’s Quester?”

“He asked me to keep you company for now,” Ruth said, crunching down on his half of the biscuit. “Being beaten by a golem has wounded his pride, I think.”

“Was Coin alright?” Dipping her snack into her mug, Regal waited for the biscuit to soften. “He brushed it off before I could apologize.”

“Coin’s fine,” Ruth said, waving his hand dismissively. “You know him, he’ll be right back to counting his earnings before you know it.”

“I still feel bad,” Regal replied. Sighing, she slumped down onto the boulder. “I’m not paying you to die.”

“Nobody’s going to die.” Glancing down at the young woman, Ruth forced a grin. “Coin wasn’t even touching the water when you froze it. You should have seen it – the rain clears, and there he is, standing with each leg on top of a different golem. The lad certainly has a charm about him.”

“I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt,” Regal said. “Christoph and… Emilia. They were okay too, right?”

“Of course they were,” Ruth replied. “It’d take more than that to bring down a pirate ship. Still, I can’t say Quester and Lily were happy about what he did, just rushing into the battlefield like that. Next time, it might not end so well, you know?”

“Yeah, I know that.” Sipping her soup, Regal fell silent for a moment. “I shouldn’t contact him any more, should I?”

“I don’t think so,” Ruth said, shaking his head. “He’s caused enough trouble as it is.”