Arthur closed his eyes. Then he opened them again. He repeated the process several times, but the result was still the same. The same coarse voice angrily continued to call out to him. It was, unfortunately, not a dream.

His head ached from the flood of endless problems.

"0.5 luck. I wonder with that kind of luck could I get struck by lightning, hit by a car, and dumped by my girlfriend on the same day?"

He could hear someone approaching him behind his back. The metallic clanking of heavy boots echoed throughout the guildhall.

Arthur slapped his cheeks. The sullen expression was instantly replaced by a polite smile. It was his famous technique. He had the divine talent of keeping a mask of friendliness on his face, even when inwardly he was ready to burn everyone alive.

- Whatever I did, I sincerely apologize. But I don't have time right now...

He was confident in his negotiating skills. If he put in enough effort any conflict could be easily resolved with words.

Arthur maintained an apologetic smile, giving himself the most pitying look, and turned to the approaching source of the noise.

But...

Arthur didn't even have time to realize anything. A few moments ago he was firmly on the ground, and now he was flying somewhere for reasons unknown to him.

His body hit the front desk like a cannonball, shattering a couple of computers and causing one of the pretty employees to drop her mug of tea on the floor.

Arthur spits blood out of his mouth. A furious kick hit him in the stomach, similar in feel to a collision with a multi-ton car.

- Useless bastard. You almost got us killed. - The powerful voice came down on the poor guy as if it were going to break his ear membranes as well.

His eyes were blurry. He looked in the direction of the speaker, but saw three men there at once, each holding a double-edged axe in his hand. Three huge bald men, probably over two meters tall, with their faces twisted with rage, were yelling at him.

"Are they all twins?" - Arthur thought in a hazy state.

After a few seconds, having finally come to his senses, the three men merged into one.

- Craster, leave him or you'll kill him. - Someone's hand rested on the giant's shoulder and pulled him back.

- I don't care if I kill him. He's just nothing.

- Maybe he is. But don't forget who his brother is. Do you really want to confront him?

-Okay... let him live. - After a brief pause, reluctantly, as if squeezing the words out of himself, replied the giant with the axe.

Hearing the saving words, Arthur turned his gaze gratefully to his protector.

There stood a young man, no older than Arthur, dressed entirely in black, with a hood over his head. Pulling the giant away, he immediately looked away from the lad lying on the cold floor of the guild and began to play carelessly with his dagger. His attitude seemed to say, "I've already wasted too much time on such a miserable problem."

Arthur, groaning, leaned on his two hands and tried to stand up. Sharp pain in his chest confirmed his guess that the blow had broken a couple of his ribs.

- Where are you going? Stay down.

The axe-wielding man's heavy leg prevented him from getting up. A black boot with spikes hurt him in the skin on his chest.

Soon the two were joined by two other girls as well. The first girl folded her arms across her chest with a disgruntled look and ran her gaze contemptuously over Arthur. Her short black hair and a single earring in her ear, in addition to the exquisite wooden bow behind her, reminded him of the image of an Amazon from children's fairy tales.

Beside her stood a petite blonde with a frightened look. She seemed to be trying to say something. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound escaped her lips.

Everyone in the guild watched the scene curiously. He could feel the mocking and scornful looks, the smirks on people's faces, and even the whispers around him, calling him a loser and a wimp. Some, it was true, looked at him with faint pity, but those looks annoyed him the most. Meaningless pity. No help at all.

"Is it the order of the day in this guild to beat someone up right in front of everyone? " Arthur thought and clenched his hands into fists so that his knuckles began to crunch.

He was even about to apologize for something he hadn't even done, but he was just rammed into the wall without warning. The vein on Arthur's forehead swelled with rage.

- Take your foot off...

The giant was surprised to hear the words from what he thought was a worm. He leaned in closer.

- Say it again. What did you say?

- I said... take your fucking foot off. Or I swear to God you'll pay for this. - Arthur said quietly and very calmly, in his tone of voice, it was impossible to guess his true feelings.

The giant went numb with shock. He had expected that a man known for his weakness and timidity would beg for his forgiveness. But...

"Is he threatening me?"

A wild rage exploded in the bald man's chest. He pressed down on Arthur's stomach with even more force. A low moan escaped the boy's lips, but that was all. Even his expression didn't change, he was staring intently at the giant as if he were evaluating his future prey.

The bald giant involuntarily shuddered as he felt the pure bloodlust directed at him. He was tempted to take his foot off and walk away as soon as possible, but pride eclipsed the call of his sixth sense.

- Have you lost your mind, loser? ... Aaahhhh.

The little girl's howl resounded deafeningly throughout the guildhall. All the hunters and staff gathered there began to look around in puzzlement. Everyone had the same thought running through their heads.

"A little girl? What is a child doing in a place like this? "

But it wasn't until a couple of seconds later that the reality of what was happening hit everyone around them like a frantic wave. An unbelievable realization left the entire guild speechless. There was absolute silence.

The source of that squeaky, childlike scream was a six-foot-tall, muscular man. He stood paralyzed, unable to move, and desperately holding back the tears that were gathering. The reason was simple- his balls in his hands as in an iron vice were firmly squeezed by Arthur.

- I warned you, if you don't take your leg, you'll regret it. Give me one reason why I shouldn't interrupt your lineage right here and now.

"That idiotic trick works even in a fantasy world." - he chuckled in his head.

It was an absurd picture. Though Craster and Arthur were technically the same G-rank, the actual difference in their physical strengths was like heaven and earth. To make matters worse, the giant already possessed a mana core, which made him even stronger. And now this man was completely helpless in the face of such a dishonorable reception.

- What are you doing? Stop this immediately.

The woman's stern voice seemed to have a kind of magical power. It was like an unquestioning desire to obey her words, even Arthur hesitated for a second before he could regain his composure.

- Do you two know what this place is? How dare you pick a fight in a guild building?

Arthur, still threatening Craster's gender, glimpsed the unknown woman. If he had been asked to describe her, it would have been something like "Black hair gathered in a ponytail, glasses, confident look, and shoulder straps with five stripes." Arthur figured she was probably a high-ranking member of the guild since he hadn't seen so many stripes on the staff before.

- Can't you hear me? Hey, you... let him go. Now!

The girl began to get angry when she realized that neither of them reacted to her words.

"You only came now? Where were you when I was being beaten?" - Arthur thought irritably.

Arthur reluctantly unclenched his hand. He couldn't afford to provoke the entire guild. He would never have acted so harshly in normal situations for lack of information. It was foolish to attack someone if you didn't know what the consequences would be, especially when it was happening in front of everyone. But in his defense, Arthur was incredibly tired and had had a hell of a day, so he just couldn't help himself.

- Now would you care to explain what's going on here?

- This man set up our whole team...

The girl with the bow suddenly took the floor, she pointed her finger at Arthur.

- Miss Lina, as you know, Arno works as an intelligence specialist. And one of his tasks is to monitor the perimeter during the hunt. But without saying a word, he abandoned his post and just disappeared. It was totally unexpected. We were in a dangerous situation and were attacked by a numerically superior group of mana beasts. His utter incompetence and negligence almost cost the life of one of our squad members. And now he dares to walk around the guild as if nothing had happened.

- Is that so, hunter rank G Mann? - The girl adjusted her glasses, calling out very formally to Arthur.

"What is the right answer here? Should I say no? But it looks like Arno really did leave to do one unfunny thing."

Arthur decided to simply remain silent.

- No matter. The Guild will take care of the case. We'll do our investigation and if it's confirmed be prepared to face the consequences...now everyone disperses or there'll be trouble for everyone already.

Lina looked warningly into everyone's eyes. It seemed as if she could look through the person, deep into their heart. Inexplicably her pressure was impossible to resist.

- Go. - The short-haired girl commanded, and all the participants obediently followed her. Even Craster, head down, did not raise a word of objection.

But suddenly, when the group almost disappeared from Arthur's sight, one of the girls, that silent blonde, came back. She hesitantly, shifting from foot to foot, stood beside him.

- You must be in pain. Let me help you.

Arthur looked at her confused.

"Why would she help me? Her group obviously hates me."

- I can heal your wounds. Hold on a second.

Without waiting for an answer, she put her hands on Arthur's chest and it was like a light was pouring out of them.

"What is that? Magic? She must be a healer," he thought.

After a few seconds, he began to feel the effects. A pleasant warmth washed over his body. His breathing became easier, and he could even move his right arm again. As he waved his previously broken arm from side to side, he couldn't contain the smile on his face.

- Thank you so much. - Arthur exclaimed cheerfully. He did not care that this girl was from the same group as Craster. The important thing was that he was now free to move without unbearable pain all over his body.

The young healer froze for a moment; she looked away shyly. She clasped her hands together as if in prayer and bit her lip nervously.

"Is she waiting for something? She helped me, of course, but I can't wait indefinitely."

[59 min]

- If I have to pay, I'm sorry, I seem to have lost my wallet.

- Huh? No, no... that's not it. It's just...could you...if you have time and have a chance to talk to Eric...you know, mention me? I'm not asking for much...just say that Mia is a good healer and if you need help, I'm always happy to help him.

"Well, that explains it. I wondered why she would help me. She's just in love with Eric. Hell, just when I thought there was someone good among the crowd of all those assholes, it's like the world is laughing in my face. She's worse than all of them."

- Yeah, no problem. I'll be sure to tell Eric about your invaluable help. If it wasn't for you today, I think I would have died for sure. I'll just say to him, "Eric, I met an angel. You should see her too."

The girl's cheeks flushed. She looked at the guy standing in front of her with glowing eyes.

- Really?

- Sure. I'll even do it tonight, as soon as I get home... Oh, I forgot I lost my wallet and I can't call a taxi. What a bad luck.

- Wallet? Don't worry. Mia will take care of it. - the girl shouted with unconcealed joy.

A few minutes later Arthur was already sitting in a taxi and anxiously kept checking the time.

[37 min]

"Please hurry up. I never thought my life would literally depend on how fast a taxi would go."

The car pulled up in front of an ordinary, unremarkable high-rise. Arthur didn't have time to look at his surroundings, he rushed home as fast as he could.

"Apartment 37. Apartment 37."

[5 min]

His heart raced with the realization that his life hung in the balance. He ran up and down the floor, checking every apartment number.

- Found it. - Arthur shouted.

At first, he thought it was an ordinary black door in front of him, but he soon realized that the lock was very different from Earth's. And he had no idea how to use it!

-Damn, Damn. I can't die because of something so stupid.

Arthur, not caring about anything, started pounding on the door with force, hoping at least someone would open it. He kept repeating the words in a circle like a madman:

- Open up, open up.

Suddenly the door swung open and a pretty girl with pink hair, dressed in a maid's uniform, appeared before Arthur.

[2 min]

- The maid? - unknowingly muttered aloud to Arthur.

"Damn, now's not the time."

- Arno...

He heard the name but didn't hesitate to just run inside past the girl. Arthur tripped over some object and collapsed in the middle of the hallway, knocking over a lone vase.

[1 min]

The noise of broken glass rang throughout the apartment. At the loud sound, another girl came out of one of the rooms and looked at the fallen guy with surprise.

- Arno, idiot, what are you doing?

Arthur's eyes widened in shock. But not from her beauty, though even a moment was enough to recognize her incomparability. That was just because of the object she held in her hands. There was a piece of paper folded in half.

- Arno, you idiot, are you still alive in there?

The guy wasn't listening to her. His body was carrying him in the right direction. He roughly snatched the paper from the dazed girl and shoved it in his pocket without giving her a chance to wake up.

[Congratulations! The first mission is complete!]

Gained 2 attribute points and 350 experience points

Arthur fell to his knees without strength. He greedily groped for air like a fish thrown on the shore. Despite all this, a dazzling smile appeared on his face.

- I have done it.