Horvine City is the second largest city of Eulia Empire’s five main cities. It is also the home to the majority of high-class nobles.

The land has the lowest crime rates out of all the cities of the empire and buying property is way cheaper than compared to the other cities. Most of the business chains that handle production, outsourcing, manufacturing are located here as well, making the city a magnet for tourists, consumers and the wealthy.

One of the biggest guilds in Diacree is also located here.

It's no surprise that the Mercenary, Assassin, Magic, Alchemy and Adventurer Guilds made branches in this city. It’s a hub for all kinds of people.

Given its vast land beyond the imperial walls, many people come from afar to put in requests at the branch guilds.

The adventurer guild branch is the largest out of them all and is always buzzing with newbies. There’s a fountain in the middle of the city where all the adventurer parties go to get potential new members. It’s often referred to as a hub since the adventurer guild branch is right next to it.

Horvine city adventurer guild branch is the perfect place to gain experience as a new adventurer. The quests are always catered towards newbies.

It's no wonder why Idalia and Shaun—both F-rankers—decided to settle down in this city.

◇◇

“Nghhh!” A young man grunted after slamming down his hips with all his strength.

His female partner had her legs wrapped around his back.

The two were drenched in sweat. Only the young man—who looked no older than 16—collapsed while out of breath.

His female partner let out a quiet sigh as if she expected him to tap out like that.

She silently lifted her upper body and grabbed some tissues. She cleaned her lower half and used a towel to wipe the sweat from her upper body.

She shivered when she felt the cold wind coming through their inn room’s broken window.

The young man awkwardly scratched his head when he made eye contact with her.

“Lia, I...” Shaun lowered his head. There was a blush on his face.

She knew what he was apologizing for.

“It’s fine, okay?” Idalia reassured him, “I’m also a bit tired. We didn’t get much sleep last night after all.”

The two were in the middle of planning how to attack a goblin tribe before things got steamy around 4.AM.

Shaun can’t last longer than 10 minutes in bed between sessions, which seems to take a hit on his pride.

Idalia never cared about it before since sex isn’t the most important thing right now. Making enough money to survive is what’s important to her. Making love is just to relieve stress.

Of course, as a young woman at the ripe age of 16, she wants her lover to enjoy making love to her and vice versa.

The only problem is Shaun’s low stamina. It doesn’t just hinder his performance in bed but also in combat. Idalia couldn’t even remember how many times he had bought High Tier stamina potions just for small quests like exterminating goblins. The high tier potions are very expensive, each costing up to 40 silver.

Shaun never had a fighting instructor even though he’s from a wealthy background. He had to train on his own after leaving his home. That didn’t help at all since he doesn’t know what to do to get stronger and faster. The only good thing is that he knows how to block and swing his spear. As far as martial skills go, he had none to speak of.

Idalia is in the process of creating a powerful potion that can increase all bodily functions permanently, like bone mass, lung capacity, eyesight and so on. She learnt it from an alchemy book that she bought a few months ago. The difficult part is that it’s hard to find the ingredients that the potion needs.

Idalia knows where to find 1/3 of the ingredients. 2/3 that are left are quite expensive to buy but not impossible to get. She had been saving for them ever since she bought the alchemy book and will purchase the ingredients soon.

The last third of the ingredients can only be found in the World Tree Forest. The forest is well-protected and it’s illegal to venture into it unless accompanied by a Wood Elf of high standing. One might even call this discrimination.

Idalia doesn’t have any Elf friends so she has no way of going into that forest.

“The sun is already up,” Idalia finished wiping herself, “We should get ready to head out. Your aunt will meet up with us at the town square.”

“You spoke to aunt Lucia?”

“Yes, I ran into her at the guild branch when I went to collect my pay for an odd job. She says that she can help us get into contact with Miss Josephine.”

Josephine is the receptionist and guild recruiter for a small guild by the name of Misteltein. Idalia suggested to Shaun that the two of them sign up for the Newbie Program that Misteltein set up to recruit potential members. They have all sorts of tests to determine how competent you are.

The tests are unknown to Idalia since this is her first time in Horvine and the empire in general. The two of them come from a village within Royagard Kingdom’s lands. As with any other settlement between the empire and that kingdom, they were affected by the monster wave that happened a few months ago.

The cattle were killed and all the crops destroyed. This robbed the village of any potential sources of income, forcing the small council to request for aid from the king. Till this day the village still hasn’t recovered.

Idalia and Shaun became adventurers hoping for a better life. The two of them still had parents but became estranged from their families since their parents didn’t approve of their relationship with each other.

Idalia is the youngest daughter of a merchant that worked for a major conglomerate as a chairman. He had since taken his family to another country, hoping to start a new life. Idalia didn’t follow them, much to her parents’ anger.

Shaun’s parents are nobles from Royagard Kingdom. Unlike Idalia’s parents who crossed the border, his parents were still living in the kingdom.

The two of them left their homes to pursue a life together after both of them were 15. They didn’t have a lot of money so they sold most of their belongings to buy a small house in a village. The two had been living there for almost a year before the monster wave forced them out.

Idalia stood up from the bed. She put on her underwear and bra and then sprayed her body with cheap perfume. There was no time to bathe right now since the guild gets very busy closer to the afternoon.

The two of them still had to upgrade their gear.

“What is it?” Idalia noticed that Shaun was looking at her silently.

“You’re really beautiful, Lia… I’m glad I proposed to you.”

Idalia blushed but turned around so that he couldn’t see her face, “So, you just proposed to me because of how I look? Or do you prefer brunettes with blue eyes? Or maybe it’s my body?” she glared at him with a look of feigned anger.

“No, that’s not it! I love you because it’s you! Your beauty and body are secondary benefits for me! I fell for you because of your charms, beautiful laugher and personality!” Shaun screamed with pumped fists.

“Fufufu, then make sure to keep me. A big burly man might take me away and lock me up to be his princess.”

“What!? I’ll beat him up! There’s no way he’ll take my Lia!” Shaun jumped off the bed and hugged Idalia and tried to go for a kiss, but immediately pulled back, “Uhm, your hair smells weird.”

“Oh? How observant of you,” her brow twitched, “That’s because you spent the money we saved up for toiletries on booze in one night. I haven’t washed my hair in a week. I’m frankly surprised you only noticed the smell now,” she twisted his nipples with a look of annoyance.

“Ow! I’m sorry! Please forgive me, Miss Idalia!”

“Humph. Perfumed soap is expensive, you know. You better buy me a bar of soap if you’re really sorry.” Idalia escaped his embrace and put on her adventuring attire. She picked up her sheathed longsword and put on her armor.

Shaun offered to help her with the strap. This eventually led to the two gazing into each other’s eyes and then led to them kissing each other wildly.

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

The two broke away. Shaun frowned and shouted at the door.

“Go away! We don’t need room service! We already told you guys that we can’t afford to pay for food too!”

“—My, is that how you talk to everyone, dear Shaun? You’ve grown into quite the grumpy lad.”

“Eh!? Aunt Lucia!?” Shaun raced to the door when he heard that voice.

He quickly opened the door.

“Aunt Lucia—” before he could finish what he wanted to say, Lucia pulled him into a tight embrace. His hands were still in the air during this interaction so they were now touching Lucia’s breasts.

“Oh, my~ I didn’t expect my own nephew to have the hots for me too~ Men are such scum~” Lucia chuckled as she continued rubbing her face against Shaun’s, “You’ve really grown so much! Such a handsome boy! You should just fix that grumpy old man attitude of yours~”

A vein appeared on Idalia’s temple.

‘She’s acting like the two of them haven’t seen each other in years even though they saw each other last week.’

“Hm? Ah! Idalia, you look well!” Lucia noticed only now that Idalia was in the room.

Shaun’s face was covered in purple lipstick marks when Lucia released him.

“There’s no time to catch up now. There’s someone I want you two to meet!”

Idalia and Shaun glanced at each other, both wondering who it could be.

◇

Lucia brought the two to a coffee shop near the fountain in the center of the city. As mentioned before, the fountain square is a popular spot for guilds or adventurer parties to scout for new members.

The adventurer guild branch was right next to the fountain, which made things much more convenient. Once the parties manage to recruit members then they can go into the branch with the recruit by their side and sign their name on the party’s contract.

Timed contracts are also a thing. For example, adventurers can opt to jump from party to party if they can come to specific agreements with leaders. It could be for one of more quests or it can be the amount of time you spend in the party—like a week to a month before you’re free to go.

It's rare for timed contracts to be used by parties these days. This is because people want control of their own freedom, not be bound to a party like a slave. Taking all this into account, a contract might just be worth its value in ink and paper and nothing else. In laymen’s terms, it’s just acknowledgment that you joined a party.

Contracts are basically just used to decide on who gets what amount of money during quests.

“—Nice to meet you, Miss Idalia and Sir Shaun,” a boy—who could be mistaken for a girl due to his delicate face and feminine gestures—bowed when he got up from his table.

Idalia and Shaun awkwardly greeted the boy back. He seemed no older than them. “Who is this” must be what Shaun was thinking of as well.

“Allow me to introduce a dear old friend of mine,” Lucia stood at the boy’s side, “This is Lucri, the co-founder and vice leader of the Misteltein Guild.”

“The guild that Nova founded!?” Shaun exclaimed.

“Ah yes, that’s right.” The boy—Lucri smiled and replied.

“Before the two of you ask your questions, you need to listen to what he’s about to tell you.”

“Are the two of you hungry? I can order some food for us.”

“Ah, thank you for offering but we’re fine…” Idalia politely declined.

“Eh? But I haven’t had breakf—” Shaun was about to complain but Idalia hit him with her elbow to shut up and not be rude.

While Lucri was indeed offering, it’s best to not accept any sort of kindness, especially not when it’s from a stranger. Even a simple meal can land them in some sort of debt. Yes, Idalia knows she sounds crazy.

“Then I’ll begin…” Lucri sat back down as he gazed at all the other people advertising their parties to potential members, “As you’ve heard from rumors, we’re running several tests to find capable guild members to help me and Sir Nova run the guild. I would not have opted to go with this had we stayed a normal party. But things are different since our ambitions have shifted from simply making money. Our current goal is to help people. With that goal comes hard work. Sir Nova said that he trusts my judgment so I chose to test everyone who’s willing to join Misteltein. Joining for money is fine as well but we shouldn’t forget why we adventurers exist. If it was simply money then we would be no different from treasure hunters.”

The two silently listened to Lucri.

“Donations have been coming in from all over the empire to help us build our guild from the ground up. The people believe in us to protect them. We didn’t just reach out to new and veteran adventurers, we also invited other parties to join our guild but as expected, many of them don’t like us, simply for the fact that we’ve been growing faster as a party than anyone else. This is likely also hatred rooted at Sir Nova…”

“Eh? Why would anyone hate the guy!? He’s freakin’ awesome!” said Shaun with enthusiasm, “They’re just jealous because he’s the strongest adventurer there is! I bet he can beat every SS ranker in the empire!”

Several glares were directed at Shaun when he said Nova’s name.

“Just mentioning his name brings this sort of reaction,” Lucia said in a whisper, “It’s best if we don’t discuss our plans so loudly. Keep your voices down.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Lucri agreed.

“Wait, are you part of Misteltein now, aunt Lucia?”

“Well, sort of. I’m not in a party affiliated with Misteltein Guild yet.”

“I’m thinking of placing Miss Lucia in the main party but we’re still waiting for the guild to change her contract.”

“Yeah, Clint hasn’t come back from his honeymoon yet. We need his permission to remove my name from the party.”

“Can’t you ask Sylphy? She’s the vice leader so she should have the power to remove your name as well.” Suggested Lucri.

Lucia shook her head, “Sylphy’s still not back yet so I can’t ask her for help.”

“I thought she’s only going to visit her family for a short while?”

“The monster wave probably impacted her family’s village as well. She must be fighting the monsters in the area. If she doesn’t come back in a month then I’ll head over to her village. Worst case, if I can’t get either of them to get back then I’ll just have to relinquish my adventurer license.”

“Why would aunt Lucia do that?”

“The guilds have a strict rule that adventurers—who abandon their party without permission from the leaders—will have their license forcibly taken away and will be issued a new license. This means that they’ll start over from F-rank.”

“You’ll really do that, Miss Lucia?” Lucri asked hesitantly, “All your years of hard work will be for nothing…”

“Well, there’s nothing better to do. I tried giving the Magic Guild my application but I was turned away several times. That witch, Admeera must hate mages who don’t have formal education from academies. They consider people like us barbarians just because we didn’t learn magic from an academy. I tried asking some parties to let me do quests with them to get some money but they didn’t want me for my skills, if you know what I mean. Two months went by like that.”

“…Then why stay in the first place?”

“Well, the sex was good.”

“Right… I should’ve known that’ll be your answer,” Lucri looked back at Idalia and Shaun, “We’ve derailed from the topic. Are you interested in joining up?”

Shaun and Idalia looked at each other.

“You mentioned a main party… Who will be part of it?” asked Idalia.

“At the moment there’s only me, Sir Nova, Galadriel and possibly Miss Lucia. I’m still reviewing applications at the moment so it will be a while before I add any more members. We’ll be known as the Alpha party.”

“Ah, now I understand. Will the alpha party be the only party to go on quests?”

“Of course not. Everyone is equal. The only reason we’re split up is to avoid overcomplicating the party arrangements. Miss Josephine suggested we keep everyone separate. Alpha, Beta, Delta and so on are codenames that we’ll use until we find suitable names for all the other parties. Misteltein is both the guild and the main party’s name. Calling everyone else the same thing will confuse the public.”

“I see. If Shaun and I joined then which party will we be assigned to?”

“If your tests go smoothly then you’ll assigned to the Beta party. We’re still looking to fill that party up with members. The most skilled or experienced member out of everyone in that party will be selected as the leader. The same is true for every other party.”

“Are you in?” Lucia looked at Shaun.

Shaun scratched his head, “It’s kind of disappointing that I can’t be in the same party as Nova…”

“You can still join us for quests if everyone in the Alpha party gives their votes.”

“Really!? That’s awesome!”

“But,” Lucri continued, “Only once a month. You can’t abandon your assigned party and join another whenever you feel like it.”

“…..” Shaun looked downcast.

Idalia patted his head with a chuckle.

“We’re in. Right, Shaun?”

“….Mm, yeah…”

“That’s great!” Lucri clapped with a smile on his face, “Miss Lucia will be your examiner. She had already familiarized herself with the newbie program so you’re in good hands.”

Lucia smiled proudly after what Lucri said.

“I see… Uhm, what sort of tests should we expect?” asked Shaun.

“The tests will be similar to quests, only there won’t be payment. You’ll be granted points in various categories. A point system will determine your results. That score in the end will determine whether you’ll be part of the Beta party.”

“Ugh, I’m already nervous.”

“Me too,” Idalia then asked curiously, “Has the alpha party received any big quests lately?”

“By big, do you mean A-class and above?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve received several but the most important one we have to prepare for is from the queen of the Wood Elf Country. Miss Josephine did some digging and found out that several high-class adventurer parties received the same quest notice. Rumor has it that it’s an SS-rank quest.”

There’s only been three SS-rank quests in the entire history of the empire before. A rank that high means that several countries could be in danger.

“You guys received a quest from a queen!? And an SS-rank at that!?”

“Keep it down, Shaun!” Idalia hit Shaun’s head.

“S-Sorry…”

“Just don’t blurt out like that again, okay? The queen didn’t give the specifics but I heard from the leader of Red Storm, Cameria that the queen wants the adventurers, those of us who accept anyway, to go into the depths of the World Tree to find out what’s causing its divine light to diminish in brilliance. In the Elves’ words, we should find out why the tree is dying.”

‘This could be my chance to find the ingredients for Shaun!’

Idalia hurriedly spoke up, “M-May I join you?”

“Idalia dear,” Lucia shook her head, “This is a very dangerous quest. While not much is known about the Fairy Province, we have a lot of information about the depths of the World Tree. We know from the notes of explorers from the era of the great war that the World Tree’s magic is unstable underground, leading to portals from other dimensions opening up, revealing all sorts of abominations. The only reason the continent isn’t flooded by these monsters is because of the magic of the High Elves that seal the entrances leading underground.”

“They suspect that some kind of entity is causing the World Tree to die out. The parties that accept the quest will need to find out if that’s true and eliminate it. There’s also a likelihood that one of their prophecies is going to come true once the Hiisi elder perishes with the World Tree. But let’s focus on the entity instead of following some legend.”

‘This sounds really important and… dangerous… Was it immature of me to ask them to take me with them…?’

Idalia knows that she’s weak. She can’t even fight a tribe of goblins on her own. It’s not surprising why she’s still an F-ranker.

If some otherworldly entity can bring about the demise of a holy body (the World Tree) then it must be extremely powerful.

How can Idalia, a mere rank F tank, contribute to such a dangerous quest?

“If you’re really eager then I can take you in our party as a porter.” Lucri suggested after reading Idalia’s expression for a few seconds, “Your main job will be to carry supplies but you can fight with us if you’d like to increase your levels.”

“What about me? Can I go too?” Shaun asked impatiently.

“No.” Lucia spoke this time, “I know how careless and hot-headed you are. You have no sense of danger and would rather show off in front of people than run away from threats that you can’t handle. I made a promise to your mother the day you were born, to guide you on the right path. What you need to do is focus on getting stronger.”

“What about Lia!? Why does she get to go!?” Shaun flared up.

“Unlike you, my dear nephew, Idalia is a mature kid who knows right from wrong and can pick her battles wisely. She didn’t request to go for selfish reasons, I know that much even without proof.”

Shaun pouted.

“Did the queen say when the quest is due for completion?” Idalia asked Lucri.

“There’s no final date for when it needs to be completed. This might mean that the queen wants every adventurer party that she sent the quest to, to plan accordingly. They don’t have the right to hurry us up after what happened in the empire a few months ago.”

He must be talking about the monster wave. From what Idalia knows, the Fairy Province’s queen didn’t make a public statement regarding what happened, which outraged a lot of people. She didn’t even offer humanitarian aid to affected nations.

“Isn’t it kind of self-centered for the queen to ask for help from humans? They don’t give a damn about us and our affairs so why should we care about theirs?” Shaun scoffed.

His anger was warranted seeing as how the queen did nothing after it was pointed out that the monster wave started in their country.

Elves are even more hated now than they ever were before.

“We have no choice in this matter. On one hand, the queen might be sending us in as easy bait to determine the level of danger. If we die, it’s no loss of theirs. On the other hand, if things go wrong then the continent might get overrun by monsters again. It’ll be Nuaria city all over again. The rewards haven’t been discussed yet but the contract outlines that the High Elves and the queen will make us decide what they should give us. Of course, there’ll be limits. It’s not like they can give us anything we want.”

“Ah man… If that’s the case… I really want to ask for a dragonsteel spear with a high grade magic crystal as its tip!”

“Magic weapons of that quality are very expensive and hard to get a hold of, even for a queen. I heard rumors that an auction will be held in the capital city. I can’t remember which noble it is but I recall it being a duchess who’s part of the noble court. I’m not sure if you’ll find dragonsteel there since the auction is going to be catered to mages. What I do know is that the duchess will reveal some kind of magic crystal that hasn’t been recorded before in history. If you get your hands on a suitable crystal then you should find a blacksmith capable of modifying the spear into a magic spear.”

“Do you have any idea how much it costs, aunt Lucia?”

“I’m not sure what the starting bid will be for the kind bigger than the average adult’s fist but I heard that the smaller chunks will be distributed to the audience for free to test their effectiveness. If you ask me, it’s a brilliant strategy to gain investors. I’ve considered going there myself to see what the fuss is all about but I have important duties at Misteltein HQ.”

“Wait, can anyone go?”

“Yup. Quite strange seeing as how it’s a noble’s house being used as an auction venue. Usually only other nobles or wealthy people are invited. The auctioneers must be desperate to show their magic crystals to the public. Just head to the capital city. You’ll find flyers all over the city.”

‘She probably forgot. Why am I not surprised?’

For as long as Idalia has known her, Lucia often forgets about important details. Sometimes it inconveniences either her or the people around her.

“Hmm… I’ll have to check it out.” Shaun made up his mind, “When will you guys head off to the Fairy Province?”

“Sir Nova isn’t back yet, so…” Lucri shrugged in defeat, “We’ll keep ourselves busy with the training programs. I don’t want to do this quest without him. Miss Cameria is also excited to form a joint party with us just for this quest. I feel bad for making her wait.”

“The leader of Red Storm—a Dark Elf—will go with us? I don’t see there being a good outcome to taking her there.” Lucia smiled wryly.

“Let’s hope it won’t matter too much to the queen… Anyway, the two of you can come over to the HQ whenever you’re ready.” Lucri stood up, “I have to meet up with Miss Cameria’s party later so we need to get going.”

“Ah, yes we understand.” Idalia stood up and shook Lucri’s hand.

Shaun did the same after her.

“I look forward to working with you, Vice Leader.” Idalia bowed.

Lucri smiled before walking away with Lucia in tow.

“What do you think about this?” Shaun asked Idalia.

Idalia and Shaun were the only two left at the table.

“What?”

“Didn’t we dream of making our own adventurer party and becoming the leaders of it? It feels pretty lame to get help from bigger parties…”

“We can’t, Shaun. It’s just impossible for two low rankers us to become famous adventurers. Maybe in a decade or so. If I may be honest, I never really believed that the two of us could make it any further than this. We’ve been on our own for almost two years but can barely scrape by. Odd jobs won’t put food on the table or a roof over our head. I don’t want to have a family while struggling this much.”

“Yeah, I know… Man, I wish I was as talented as Nova. It didn’t even take two months for that guy to become one of the strongest adventurers of all time. He has quests coming in left and right and even financial support from the citizens of the empire.” Shaun’s head fell on the table. He huffed loudly.

“Let’s focus on doing our best from now on. Things will be different now that we have Misteltein behind us.” Idalia smiled, “We’ll be part of one of the rising adventurer parties which means more quests will come our way than if the two of us were alone. Besides, we might even get strong allies who can help us complete quests that are higher than F rank. This means more money for us without the hassle. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Shaun? Our odds of survival will increase even more!”

“Man, not only are you beautiful but you’re so good with words too. I hit the jackpot for sure.” Shaun said with a goofy grin. That grin turned upside when a rumble came from his stomach.

“I’m so hungry….”

Idalia sighed.

“Come on. There are quests that need to be completed. You can hold out until lunch.” Idalia dragged Shaun off the table.

“Uggggggh!”

The two of them spent half the day fighting goblins in the forest outside the city walls and then had cheap pork skewers for lunch. Shaun complained that it wasn’t enough but Idalia made sure to point out that their finances are lacking so that’s all they can afford. They submitted goblin ears (as proof of completion) to the guild branch for a small reward before upgrading their gear at a local blacksmith.

The day ended with them having a steamy night session and watching the stars through the broken window of their crappy inn room.

Idalia and Shaun were but insignificant individuals in the vast nine realms and its millions of worlds. They’re probably the side characters of someone else’s story, whoever that could be.

But that’s okay.

They simply want an ordinary life—a life filled with adventures, riches and family. Growing up and raising a family together will be enough to satisfy them.

A modest life with her beloved is all Idalia wants.