After her conversation with the guild master, Zyra descended the stairs back to the first floor where Lilian and Keito were waiting for her.

"So?", Keito asked.

"It's been resolved. The guild master will send someone to check on Louise's situation," Zyra replied. "I have other pending matters, so I will bid you farewell," Zyra said, saying goodbye.

Keito remembered that Lilian had come to the guild today planning to meet with Louise to train her fencing skills, but due to the situation, it wasn't possible. So he suggested to Lilian, "Lilian, since Louise is not available at the moment, why don't you take a look at the mission board? There are always great missions for all ranks. You can further improve your level and skills."

Lilian nodded and headed toward the mission board. As she was rank [D], she could take on missions of rank [D], [E], and [F]. There were missions for collecting medicinal herbs, escorting, monster hunting, among other various missions.

One that caught Lilian's attention was to investigate the surroundings of the city, where people who went out to collect medicinal herbs were attacked by groups of zombies. The mission's objective was to eliminate all the zombies that were hindering low-level adventurers, as zombies were not common in that area. Therefore, it was an area frequented by common citizens and low-level adventurers.

Lilian was excited about the mission and decided to accept it. She gathered all the necessary information from Liza and prepared to go on her first solo mission. Keito offered to accompany her, but Lilian declined, saying it was a simple mission and that she could handle it on her own. She said goodbye to Keito and headed for the outskirts of the city.

Lilian patrolled the outskirts of the city and sometimes encountered one or two zombies, sometimes zombie dogs, foxes, or other animals. After patrolling for about an hour, Lilian heard a scream.

"Aaaaaah!"

Lilian ran towards the scream, took cover behind a tree, and observed. There, on the ground, was a girl surrounded by three gorb zombies. The girl was desperate. "Stay away! Don't come any closer to me!" she screamed.

Odin, who was accompanying Lilian, used his abilities and confused the zombies. They no longer saw the girl, as if she had disappeared. The girl standing on the ground was perplexed. "What's going on? Why aren't they advancing anymore?" she asked herself, seeing the zombies looking around as if they were searching. Lilian realized that the girl was in danger and decided to act quickly. She emerged from behind the tree and approached the zombies from behind, taking advantage of their distraction. With a quick strike of her sword, Lilian managed to eliminate one of the zombies and then, with an agile movement, dodged the attack of the second zombie and hit it as well. The third zombie tried to advance on Lilian, but she used the rotten blood of the other zombies to create blood blades that opened several holes in the third zombie.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Ding!

+ [23... 27... 24.. XP]

The girl who was on the ground, still frightened, watched Lilian's actions with admiration. "Thank you!" she said, grateful. "You're an adventurer, aren't you? I've never seen anyone fight like that before," she commented.

Lilian smiled and helped the girl to stand up. "Yes, I'm an adventurer on a solo mission. But what was a girl like you doing here alone? It's not safe to walk around here with these zombies," Lilian asked.

The girl lowered her head, ashamed. "I wanted to collect some herbs to make a medicine for my sick mother, but I didn't know it was so dangerous. I don't have the money to pay for an adventurer to do it for me."

Lilian understood the girl's situation and decided to help her. "Don't worry, I can help you collect the herbs you need and take you back home safely," Lilian offered. "But first, we need to make sure this area is safe. Did you see any other groups of zombies around here?"

"But first, we need to make sure this area is safe. Did you see any other groups of zombies around here?"

The girl shook her head. "I didn't see any other groups, just these three. I think they followed me while I was collecting herbs," she explained.

Sofia was grateful and thanked her. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without your help. My name is Sofia, and my mother's name is Maria," she introduced herself.

Lilian smiled and introduced herself as well. "My name is Lilian, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Sofia. Let's gather the herbs you need and get you safely home. And don't worry, I'm here to help," Lilian assured her.

The two set off in search of the herbs needed for Sofia's mother's medicine, and Lilian kept a watchful eye around, making sure there were no more zombies nearby. Along the way, they talked, and Lilian learned more about the difficult situation Sofia's family was going through. Her mother was very sick, and they didn't have the money to pay for proper treatment.

Seeing Lilian so willing to help, Sofia decided to tell her, "I have healing abilities, but I can't use them to cure illnesses, only wounds or small cuts," Sofia said.

Lilian was surprised; it was such a useful skill. The two talked while Lilian and Sofia collected medicinal herbs. Later, they returned safely to the city. "I hope you can help your mother, Sofia," Lilian said.

Sofia smiled and waved to Lilian. "Goodbye, Lilian! We will meet again."

Lilian went on her way to the guild while Sofia went home to take care of her mother. When Lilian arrived at the guild, she reported the completion of the mission, collected her reward, and went home.

The XP gain was not much on this mission, not for her or Odin, but they were able to help someone and made a good friend.

The next day, Lilian headed back to the guild to start another day, but to her surprise, she found someone there. It was Sofia.

"Sofia!" exclaimed Lilian. "What are you doing here? And how is your mother?" asked Lilian.

Sofia, seeing Lilian, smiled gently. "Hi Lilian, my mother is much better," she said. "I decided to come here to become an adventurer. I realized that I can't take care of my family if things continue like this. My mother can't work and my brother is too young. Maybe by becoming an adventurer, I can improve my skills and earn some money."

Lilian was surprised by Sofia's decision. "Become an adventurer? But you don't have any fighting skills," said Lilian.

"Don't worry, Lilian. We healers don't have to go through that evaluation, as we always stay in the rear to assist," replied Sofia.

Lilian looked at Sofia with an excited smile and said, "Sofia, I think you would be a great addition to my group, which for now would be just you and me. I know you have incredible healing abilities and I'm sure we could help each other a lot. Besides, being part of a group can bring many benefits, such as dividing tasks and sharing resources."

Sofia seemed surprised by the offer but also excited. "I would love to be part of your group, Lilian," she said. "But I'm still inexperienced."

"Don't worry," said Lilian, smiling. "We will always help each other."

Sofia smiled excitedly. "Thank you so much, Lilian. I can't wait to start this new adventure with you."

Lilian laughed excitedly and said, "Then let's start right now. Let's go to the guild to register you as my team member, and then we can go in search of new missions. I'm excited to see what we can accomplish together."