Taking one big breath, the girl rolled up her sleeves, adjusted her goggles and reached for a new set of equipment.

“Okay, this time I’ll get it for sure. Let’s try four drops…”

She pressed her feet on the pedal spinning to the centrifuge, separating, and extracting contents into separate beakers. She siphoned some of its liquid, nervously moved the dropper above a sensitive solution that could cause a violent reaction at any moment.

She failed countlessly, losing count when the number hit around the fifties. However, her pride would not allow her to surrender. She made it clear as the fourth droplet oozed out of the tip and patiently waited for the final drop to fall.

Plop!

The liquid changed to a beautiful cyan blue. She was relieved to see a positive reaction after tinkering the recipe, but it began bubbled. The solution gradually flared up like a volcano and radiated a surge of hot air that eventually exploded the glass container.

In a panic, she fell off her chair and landed on her backside.

Now sitting on the ground, a curious face framed by her iliac hair was scrunched up by dust. She depressingly stared at the results of her failure and peeked over the desk.

The surface was covered in patches of burnt spots, remaining ingredients were turned to smithereens. The window capturing the outside was browned with incurable smudges.

She reached for the workshop’s dustpan and swept the bits before realizing she had used up her remainder of ingredients prepared previously.

“Ugh… Does that mean the mixture was too strong?” She mumbled, scratching a new number on her list.

Her slim arms reached for a nearby cabinet, searching for supplies. She felt around for a container in the farthest corner only to find it was empty.

“Already?! No way, I could’ve sworn I had more! This sucks!”

“There you are. I heard a loud noise.” A voice rang from behind. “Another failure?”

He wore a silver stripped vest over a dark brown jacket which appeared expensive, but she knew it was second hand used equipment. On the left side of his waist hanged a pair of weapons; an axe and a shortsword. A hand cannon designed to fire heavy slug shots was holstered behind and a book strapped on his right.

He smirked as he traced two large circles around his eyes. “Judging by your expression, you ran out of materials?”

“What do you think?”

The girl grumbled pouring the pan of glass bits into a disposable bin out of frustration. After a brief glance, she noticed a cloth extended to her. She took his handkerchief and wiped smudges off her face.

“So?”

“I don’t have a lot of time left. I need to submit a product assigned by the examiners in the next three days. They gave me the list of ingredients and equipment, but they left me to determine the quantity and procedure! Because of this, I’m out of ingredients again!”

“What do you need?”

“Membranes of a blob. Quest?”

“We’ve met our quota for the week, but we could do some extra quests if you want.”

She nodded.

“I’ll go call Davin then. Figured he might be lonely if we didn’t involve him.”

“Sure, I’ll be ready in a moment.”

The door gently closed behind him as the boy stepped out.

She holstered her engraving stylus. There was a small and rough magic crystal embedded at the nib which was interchangeable. A button around the grip would gyrate the tip which siphoned magic ink she synthesized.

She would use this tool to write “words of magic” onto any surface which will become a primed spell.

“Note to self, buy more sandpaper to sharpen the tip.” She said, fixing her short jacket. “If I don’t pass, I won’t be able to cast spells soon. It sucks these crystals aren’t sold and had to be made.”

She stowed vials of leftover magick ink and empty cartridges in her bag like an assorted box of candies. They were displaced, unorganized, but to her, it was in a placement she memorized. She belted on a quiver of cheaply made arrows and hung a wooden shortbow over her shoulder.

Four days had passes since she was tasked with a promotional assignment. She was given a list of materials and the method of creating the product was up to her imagination and understanding of experiments. The test was having her run trial and errors until she could create the requested item that was due in one week’s time.

“Looking great as always, Neila.”

“You’re not complimenting me when I’m looking like this are you, Simonn?”

“It’s not that bad.” He, Simonn, made a slight grin and seemed a bit happy seeing her pouty face. “Anyways, Davin’s making his way here. We can choose a quest before he gets here. Ready?”

“All set.”

They climbed down from the second floor of the building, making their way to main level, also the main attraction of this building, serviced as a hub for curious explorers. Adventurers, and Explorers alike find themselves drawn to this place. Whether they had a dream to set foot in uncharted territories, find a sense of thrill in dungeon dives or test their skills against monsters, all would eventually find themselves to visit the Guild.

Men and women of all races; client or job seekers entered and exited constantly. Eager adventurers kept their eyes pinned to the billboard as they carefully considered their next job, praying it won’t kill them. Others sat by the lounge to play a friendly game of cards. Some waited in line for their turn to turn in their successful quest or offer to post a job.

This was just one of many office branches across the continent. Neila couldn’t imagine how other Guilds function daily. For now, she needed to gather ingredients for her task. From the quest board, she snatched a leftover extermination quest.

“Hey, Zarathous’ pushing Lizurin hard. Shouldn’t we be sending soldiers? Why isn’t the Princess sending reinforcements to them?”

“Why don’t you ask the Prince of Lizurin? The Princess has been trying but the prince kept refusing.”

They heard bits and pieces of information regarding the new battle brewing over the world. Zarathous was now under Vassal Vincent Feloranna’s control, the Hero that defeated the Shadow Lord.

It was thanks to the Astropolis Memorandum, the Hero and seven Acolytes were able to prevail against the Shadow Lord’s malice. However, shortly after the Heroes return, they drew their blades against humanity and seized Zarathous.

By now, the line had fewer people. Neila watched for her number from the waiting list on the monitor above.

“Oh Simonn, is that you? It is! My group’s about to go hunt a Wyvern. Care to join us?”

“Simonn’s here? Yo buddy! We could use a hand from you to go dungeon diving with us! Whaddya say?”

Leaders of other Adventurer parties were trying to recruit Simonn. It’s because he lived through the horrors fighting against hordes of Demons that he, and other survivors were given the upmost respect.

From the moment he turned up in a Guild, his past accomplishments attracted attention from many experienced parties. His first quest was a simple herb gathering quest, but he turned up with rare materials that could only be obtained by defeating high ranking monsters.

“Hey guys, I’m here-. Huh… Simonn’s sure popular. He’s got girls all over him too, lucky bastard.”

Treading towards Neila, his hair was black with a bit of brown mixed in.

He held a grumpy expression with sleepy eyes making him look like he could fall asleep any moment. He wore a coat with jack chains on the exterior offering protection his shoulder and elbows. His sword was on the waist under a small, scarred round shield strapped on his left arm.

“Jealous?” He asked.

“What do you think?”

Davin backed off slightly as he studied Neila turning slightly more agitated. Then he shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about him being taken away. You know how crazy he is about you.”

“I know, but-.”

“Your number’s being called.”

Neila looked at her number, back to Simonn, back to her number. She gave the numbered ticket an irritated squeeze and followed the arrows directing her to a receptionist.

“Hello, how may I help you today?”

“My group wants to take this quest.”

The receptionist blinked when she heard Neila’s aggressive voice. Realizing the commotion behind her, receptionist let out a small cough and returned a professional smile.

“An extermination quest, is it? Do you have your IDs?”

“Here. Plus one more. He’s over there.” Neila handed over three tags and pointed to Simonn.

The Guild’s Receptionist examined their tags, verifying their identity by matching their faces. She tapped away at the typewriter in front of her, generating a professionally written contract based on the quest Neila’s group chose.

She then asked a series of question. This was a standard process for adventurers as a safety precaution to keep track.

The guild trained their workers to calculate an approximate timeframe adventurer requested to complete the quest. This was to keep track of their status as some adventurers could lose their lives on the job, become incapacitated or require backup if there were no reports heard from them after a period of time.

“Hm, your group had recently been promoted to Rookie Rank. Are you sure you’d like to take a Novice Ranked Quest?”

“We earned enough to get by the week. I needed extra materials to complete my promotional assignment.”

“That’s understandable. Then your destination should be near the area by the mining settlement.”

The Receptionist plucked the paper from the typewriter and placed it beside her. She took a bronze tinted quill, dipped it in an ink bottle and scribbled a series of characters before reaching for a stamp.

A powerful mechanical thump declared the quest was officially approved and taken by Neila’s group.

“Okay, all set.” Receptionist neatly stacked the papers and handed a copy to Neila. “This is the confirmation you are the ones who took up the request. Once you’ve completed the objective, return this paper to us with evidence of the exterminated monsters. We will reward the amount stated after you make your report. Good hunting!”

“Thank you.”

With that, Neila and Davin left the counter.

As the receptionist waited to help the next person, she put on a small smile seeing Neila drag Simonn away from a group of girls. She heard them sneer at Neila. What could she do? The Receptionist was aware how close the two were and yet, she couldn’t shake off a feeling from Simonn that haunted her.

Some said he was a survivor from the war against the Shadow Lord. He had medals to prove his service, but the media said all soldiers that participated in the final battle were wiped out. Perhaps he was part of the reserve army to prevent future Demons to pass the fissure in case the Heroes failed. There were only a handful who survived along with the Hero and his Seven Acolytes on the gruesome death march.

Even so, the heroes barely returned from the realm of shadows with their lives.

By now, the guild was at its quietest as most adventurers chose their quest. Noise from the guild lobby dwindled. You could hear the clocks clicking their gears in this silent building and hear fire behind the kitchen as they served lunch to the last explorers before they depart.

“You okay?” Her co-worker tapped her shoulders. “Your ears perk up whenever you meet that girl’s group. When I saw you speaking with her, you were staring at that boy. Don’t tell me-!”

“Stop right there. I’m a married woman.” Receptionist showed off a ring on her finger. “But I’ll tell you what’s on my mind. I feel there’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I heard he was a survivor from the war, but there’s an unexplainable feeling I just can’t put my tongue on. By the way, why are you here?”

“A report from the surveyors just came in. There’s an issue to update the difficulty rank of a few areas. Apparently, they detected a large spike of magic around Crea. Mournil Mines is just at the edge of that perimeter and is now announced to become an Adept Ranked. Just letting you know to inform future Adventurers who chose jobs to those places to warn them.”

“Eh? But I just-.” Receptionist’s eyes went wide. Her face had gone pale. She grabbed her hair and shrieked incomprehensibly for a moment. “I sent a team of Rookie ranks to a quest located near there! It’s already been a few hours?! W-what do I do?!”

“Calm down. There’s another group of adventurers already there. I’m sure they’ll understand the situation and come back to withdraw from the quest. The most adventurers could do is complain but we have no control over that. Besides, they have a veteran with them. I’d say they’re chances to come back are high.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They took transportation to a mining settlement called Syi. It was where their quest originated from as a miner posted a request to slay blobs that caused a blockage downstream of some river.

“Hey, we’re here.”

Simonn poked Neila’s nose who had been leaning on him. During the ride, he found her dozing off. He moved her on his shoulders after noticing her head adorably bobbing up and down. For the rest of the ride, he didn’t move an inch and gave her a steady headrest to sleep on.

“Sheesh, I thought Davin would be the who won’t learn when to wake up.”

“Do you always think I’m the slacker of this group?”

After rinsing his mouth with a gulp of water, Davin looked out to the back to find themselves passing the checkpoint into Syi. He observed the streets as the carriage directed itself towards the designated stable to drop off passengers.

“Should we get more supplies?” Davin asked.

Simonn counted the silver coins in his pouch. His eyes wandered onto the stalls and judged how merchants appeal towards their patrons.

“That’d be a good idea. I think we could afford one more stamina potion for each of us, but the prices here are quite high though.”

By the time the carriage arrived to its destination, the sun was high in the sky. Sometime later it stopped in the village’s parking area. Davin jumped out and payed the toll for their entry. Simonn nudged Neila’s forehead until she decided to open her eyes.

“Wakey, wakey. If you don’t wake up, I’ll play a trick on you~.”

“Mm…”

She nodded, sitting upright like a child having trouble opening their eyes early in the morning. Slowly turning her head, she felt a finger poke her cheek. At that moment her eyes fluttered opened, and her face grew bright red. She pulled down her goggles to hide her embarrassment.

“Um… I-I’m sorry!”

“If you slept a bit longer, I would’ve started taking pictures.”

“Don’t you dare.” She quickly shot back. “That camera is supposed to be used for validating our quests. Films cost a lot too.”

“I think your sleeping face is priceless.”

“You- stop teasing me!”

“Are you two ready?”

Davin kicked the carriage and tapped his foot impatiently. He was annoyed by the fact his teammates were attracting a lot of unnecessary attention.

If he wanted to, he would’ve left to restock by himself if it wasn’t for the lack of confidence in his bargaining skills. Those things were best to left it to Simonn. It looked like he was already being scammed by looking at their prices.

The village consist only of a straight, giant path. Peddlers stationed in the center, separating the road into two streets. The vendors pretty much sold everything, from food to odd knickknacks, weapons to clothes. There was a vast array of services stationed here because this place did not have its own apothecary nor a blacksmith. One would see a street of apprentices beginning their journey here.

Davin browsed the stalls and compared the prices to the total amount of money they brought.

Altogether, they had a roughly 350 silver on hand. Lodging for a one-night stay would cost around half the amount. As the rooms were small, he can rent a small room for himself while Simonn and Neila were at a point in their relationship they could share a room. Food may cost up to 50 silver at most, and the trip back home will cost 60 silver alone, leaving them nearly enough to buy stamina potions for a discounted price of 30 silver.

Then there was the need for repairs if their equipment broke after battles.

“Erk… Man, being an adventurer is hard. At least I’ll earn more then I spent with this quest.” He mumbled as he signed the inn’s log book. “Why is it noisier than usual outside?”

“Is there a sale going on?”

“Doubt it.” Neila said. “But there’s a lot of noise. I want to take a peek.”

After securing rooms to stay, the trio shuffled past the crowd discovering a group of people pleading for help. The attention was on a team of adventurers.

Among the returnees, two of the four members were in critical condition. One did not make it. The warrior had arrows sticking from his back. He was miraculously breathing, but he looked like he was about to pass out from blood loss.

A magic caster with a cloth tied over an eye arm lent his shoulder to support the warrior. The third member was gently laid on the ground with a handkerchief covering the face. The archer dyed in red, shaken down to the boot.

“That looks bad. What did you think happened?” Neila asked.

“Judging how worn they look, I’d say a rescue party managed to help them. They couldn’t have made it back just by themselves. They were lucky.”

This is considered lucky?

“They came from the road we’re going.” Davin said, pointing to the blood trail. “Should we abandon the quest?”

“If anything, we can run if we see danger.” Simonn added. “We just need to be careful and keep an eye out.”

Bang!

Eyes darted towards the direction of the disturbing noise. Guards who were dispersing the crowds looked among themselves for an answer.

“What was that?”

The people who carried rifles were a few guards and of course, adventurers. However, none of the guardsman have pulled a trigger and the gunshot sounded distant. Looks of confusion began to spread until a lookout on the watch tower ran the bell like a hooligan.

The bell continued to ring at random. Residents of the area rushed inside buildings as outsiders look dumbfound. Guards instantly took defensive positions by the entrance at the north side of the village.

Bang! Bang!

“K-Kobolds! Kobolds are attacking!”

Several more gunshots cracked the air as a party of four emerged from the forest. They brought a pack of blood thirsty Kobolds chasing them with primitive axes and spears. It was obvious the group of adventurers found themselves unable to fight against the number of monsters and decided to do a tactical retreat.

Kobolds were depicted to be half as tall as an elementary schooler -but stronger- and Elder Kobolds were a bit taller than preteens, shorter than human adults. Their racial appearance perfectly mimicked lizardmen, but they have fur instead of scales and have kangaroo like ears instead of horns and spikes.

“Those are… Kobolds?!” Davin yelped. “Uwah... Were they always this feral?”

Simonn stepped to the front, looking down the half closing gate.

“Neila, can you cast magic? My gun isn’t made for firing long distances.”

“I can’t get a good aim.”

“Then put your spells on something. I’ll lob it to a place where you can detonate it.”

Neila carved Alchema symbols, also known as words of magic, onto a palm size rubble off the road. As for the spell being inputted, she decided to use wind elemental. Compared to using flashy fire magic, it won’t cause an eye-catching scene to surprise the guards defending.

“Ready?” Simonn asked.

“Ready.”

On Neila’s cue, Simonn lobbed it in front of the adventurers. Neila bided her time to activate her magic after the fleeing Adventurers safely passed it and lured the Kobolds were within range.

Furl, Ulos, Gruk, Ruh. O’Elementals, heed my call. Unleash your furious winds on my command!

A burst of wind exploded from the rock and whipped up a whirlwind. It looked as if the earth ruptured, spitting up dirt. One Kobold caught itself within the blast and was propelled backwards while its brethren awkwardly stopped in their tracks waiting for the curtain of dirt to fall.

The Adventurers stormed past the gates just as they closed. A male fighter sprinted in with a halfling spellcaster under his arm. An elegant spearwoman glided over the fighter then a beastkin gunslinger tumbled behind the gates last.

The beastkin rolled into a kneeling pose and fired two more shots before the gate was shut.

“One got through!” Davin warned. “It’s going after them!”

“On it!”

Simonn raced towards the gate with another rock he picked up. He slugged the Kobold’s nose alongside Neila’s arrow launched into its shoulder, forcing the Kobold to stumble a step backward.

Spearwoman brandished her pole-shaped weapon diagonally at the monster’s torso. It was a weak slash, but she was fatigued from running. She quickly twirled and thrust with the bottom end.

The Kobold sprawled into the group of guards and was given a brutal finish from swords stabbing all over while Spearwoman landed on her rump.

“You alright?” Simonn popped a stamina potion, handing it to Spearwoman.

“Yeah, you saved me there.”

Spearwoman drained the bottle within seconds, chugging it in the most unladylike manner. She had lovely golden hair and beautiful facial features. She was slender overall and displayed a self-important aura of nobility flowing around her. Her chest was protected by leather armor while greaves and gauntlets protected her limbs.

Her appearance captivated Davin and Neila until they briefly met her scowling sapphire eyes. After catching her breath, she composed herself back to her noble-like pride.

“Bitter…”

“We’ll you’re not getting better quality than that.” Simonn chuckled. “It’s the most I can afford. Small world though.”

“Yeah, a coincidence to see you here. I see you’re still with her.”

“Of course! Its only natural we’re together. She’s my girlfriend!” He proudly declared ignoring Neila’s ‘Stop it, that’s embarrassing!’

“Oh? Let me know if you’ve dumped her. I’ll consider going out with you.”

“Ha! That’s funny however, I’ve made a promise to stay by her side till the day I die.” He then asked. “Jokes aside, what’s happening out there?”

“Seems like the Kobolds elected a Chieftain. They’re spreading within Mournil Mines like rats.” Elizabeth said, wiping her bloodied tipped spear with a scrap hemp laying off the ground. “Besides, what is your team doing here? You couldn’t have accepted a quest in Mounril Mines, did you?”

“No, we’re planning to hunt blobs in the forest around it. Right, Neila?”

“Y-yes. Are you also on a quest here too, Elizabeth?”

“My team’s the rescue party for the ones who came through earlier.” Spearwoman, Elizabeth, pointed to the archer’s group. “The Kobold’s numbers would force them expand outside soon. Before that happens, I’d like some help us take care of the chieftain.”

“We’re only Rookie Rank, you can’t expect us to join you.”

“I wasn’t asking you for help. I was asking for Simonn’s.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Neila barked. “I helped you, you know?!”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Elizabeth chided her away and turned back to Simonn. “I need someone like you to help me. I know you’re a capable fighter. If you join my party, we can defeat the Chieftain and make a name for ourselves.”

“Fame? It sounds like you need it more than me.”

“I’m not going to lie but yes. I need to get my own name more known than my family’s name.”

“I’m sorry but that’s your problem.” His expression hasn’t changed but he clearly sounded annoyed. “But theres a difference between what it must be done rather than what can be done. I believe it’s for the greater good if the mines could be cleared.”

“Then-!”

“But I don’t appreciate you talking down Neila like that. If you insult her one more time, I’ll do more than letting you off with this warning. Your head might roll. I’d be careful.”

He whispered in a threatening tone that cold sweat formed over Elizabeth’s head. For a second, she felt a reaper’s crooked blade inches from her neck that could take her life.

After getting his message across, he released Elizabeth’s arm and gave a hearty pat on her shoulder as he dragged Neila past her.

“One more thing.” Simonn flashed a smile that erased his previous threats. “What you’re planning is reckless. That’s a problem best notified to the guild. Sorry, but I can’t abandon my job mid-way.”

Elizabeth remained motionless, speechless and unconsciously gulped. She simply heard Neila and Simonn’s footstep sounding more distant and was left powerless to retort. She made a fist and returned to check with her group members.

“What’s wrong, Elizabeth. You’re looking pale.” The Halfling asked. “Did those people do something to you?”

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head. “I’ll send a subjugation request to the guild. If they approved it, I’m planning to go to the mines again. Those Kobolds are going to cause trouble if we don’t take them down soon. You guys in?”

“Ooo, exploring? Count me in!” A Beastkin gunslinger raised a fist in the air.

“We’re going back?” A male Fighter grunted. “Good. The thing I hate most is when enemies use unsightly tactics like ambushing us. I want some payback.”

“Looks like I’ll have to go too. How annoying…” The Halfling sighed. “This means we’re staying another day here. I’d better make more spells while I’m at it.”

“Rest up for the rest of the day. We’ll visit the mines once we get a reply from the guild.”