Following a gruelling two hours of poking, prodding and invasive attention to areas neither would speak of the pair of adventurers were decked in all new attire. Walking out of Smitty’s, Valerie immediately examined her outfit in a nearby store window inspecting all the stiches and seams finding not a single loose thread or wasted piece of fabric. Nor did she find any blemishes, marks or stains on the steel plates adorning her new armour. Starting at her feet, her old worn boots were replaced with a sturdy and well fitted pair that matched the set of light and highly durable leather greaves that extended from her ankle to just above her knee. The material was odd and flexed with her legs so seamlessly it almost appeared like a second skin. Smitty refused to reveal what they were made of claiming it was a trade secret, and a part of Valerie didn’t want to know, ignorance being bliss and all. Moving up, she wore the striped pelt of a familiar feline that wrapped around her waist and drooped more at the back stopping just shy of the back of her knees. Originally Smitty had wanted to go for a standard cuisse to protect the huntress’s lower half, but Becky instead suggested making use of the Tigers pelt and convinced her boss saying it would finally get rid of the last of that feline from his workshop.
Next, Valerie’s left arm from the shoulder to the tips of her fingers were covered in a steel sleeve of interlocking plates which limited her movement but offered a makeshift shield of sorts to fend off a beast’s chompers and more importantly meant she could deliver a mean left hook. On the literal other hand, her right arm was far less protected with only a simple bracer loosely connected by straps to a pauldron atop her shoulder. Compared to her left arm, she could move her right with more precision and still have some decent cover for particularly ferocious opponents. On her torso intricately designed breastplate covered her front to back with ample coverage from her collar bone down to her stomach. Becky tried to suggest a plate that was fitted to the huntress’s exact personal proportions which nearly caused Valerie to walk out there and then.
To complete the set, she tried on a variety of helmets finding most were not to her liking due to one reason or another. Despite not trying as hard to put on a pretty face as some of her female guardians would like, a deep hidden away part of Valerie didn’t want to cover too much just in case she did develop an interest in make-up eventually. After some time, she settled on a bandana with a thin metal sheet between the fabric folds which she wore affixed to her forehead. Her reasoning was she could still see and hear everything around her while also helping to tie her hair back or deliver a ringing headbutt. The Fashionista and even Samantha simply nodded along to the half-baked explanation. Underneath the armour she still used the simple linen shirt and cloth trousers she had been wearing for the past few weeks, with some holes and loose seems taken care of making them appear as new. Ultimately, her armour was function above all focusing on freedom of movement while offering decent protection with only the smallest additions to bring some new flare to the huntress’s style.
While Valerie looked herself over and tried to appear indifferent, Samantha ran in circles like a child as she forced her cloak to billow out. While the huntress’s outfit dipped into both defence and offense, Samantha was all manoeuvrability and obfuscation. Compared to the formers leather browns, reflective silvers and orange pelt, the Shadow user was dressed as black as the night. She wore dark fabrics that covered her from neck to toe all tightly bound without a single loose scrap. Her cloak meanwhile was allowed to flow freely as an updated mishmash of fabrics, rags, scraps and charred remains. Samantha was still reluctant to give up on her favourite keepsake, even though it was barely a shadow of itself, and Smitty respected this stance as he often held onto junk well past its prime as he sought continuous improvement. It took some brainstorming, but the Fashionista Becky was able to re-sow the mish mash of scraps with some leftovers from Smitty’s old projects into a full-length hooded cape again. Beneath the jigsaw puzzle of a cloak a new pitch-black veil was fitted, dark enough to obscure Samantha and create the perfect cover for her to summon her shadow chains.
Leaping and swinging from the rafters with chains appearing from her wrists, waist, feet, neck and business zone Samantha felt like some spectacular, some amazing, some uncanny spider like thing. Smitty did offer a number of small weapons or additions that would help make the shadow user a better monster hunter, but she was more interested in keeping her usual wrecking ball style of combat. Thus instead, her shoes were re-cobbled and better fitted with the steel sole replaced with some lighter far stronger metal Samantha forgot the name of after Smitty told her not to tell Valerie. She told her anyway after they both left the workshop to gawk at their update style. Staring at themselves for far too long, the pair of adventurers finally acknowledged each other’s attire taking in the full picture. In what could be called her crowning moment, Samantha summarized their outfits simply and succinctly.
“Nice.”
“Nice indeed.”
“Niiiiiiiiiice.”
“We do look nice.”
“Very nice.”
“The nicest.”
This back and forth went on for several more iterations as the two adventurers flexed, posed and generally took up space in the middle of a busy road. The shop clerk who owned the window to whom they were flaunting themselves in front of was minutes away from grabbing his broom and shooing the two of them off. Finally tearing themselves away from their own reflections, they made their way to a few local equipment shops to complete their adventuring gear. With the influx of cash that no longer needed to be saved for arms and armours the pair purchased a few essentials they neglected in the past. Utility belts were a must, as they featured several loops and pouches that helped store all the items an adventurer could need and some of the very, very, very expensive ones were magically enchanted to be capable of holding an outrageous amount of stuff. They were a long time from getting one of those, thus they stuck to the basic kind of belt with space for all sorts of alchemical concoctions. Which was their next major purchase.
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Potions came in all variety of shapes, effects and prices from the ludicrously expensive to the outlandishly expensive, if one was looking for the best options. Low grade or simple potions were more affordable even if their potency was akin to coloured water with a terrible taste. A potion was a potion however and it still had the vague echo of the magic that restored an adventurer to peak health. Valerie did enquire if there were any concoctions for restoring mana but was let down to learn no one had found a way to distil pure magic in a bottle and not have it kill someone quickly or violently. The huntress was finding herself running low on mana regularly since she began actively using her class unlike a certain shadow user who was swimming in the stuff, but she would just have to make do for now.
Walking out of the shop, Valerie was only now beginning to realize just how much of an adventuring career they were woefully unprepared for and wondered if everything they had accomplished up to this point was through their own merit or simple luck. For most in her position the answer was yes, undoubtedly yes. Neither of the two were unique in terms of broad adventurer origins, no family, no money and no other options but to turn to monster killing to make ends meet. Had either taken the time to ask around the guild they would find many were in the exact same position unable to afford the most basic of essentials. Conjecture on what they should be doing wasn’t going to magically make all the tools and funds needed magically appear, so she shook off the thought. Adventuring after all wasn’t a checklist that they needed to adhere to at all times. The two of them had carved out their own method and now were using the tools others had forged to improve their career tenfold.
Potions packed away, armour checked and stone adventuring badge on full display, the pair were ready to take on their next big challenge. They considered rushing around to tell their unofficial guardians about the rank up as well as show off their new gear, but it was better to strike while the iron was hot and there was one more thing the pair had yet to achieve. Something that had been specifically kept from them, something that adventurers of their previous rank were intentionally locked out from doing. A particular style of quest that took Samantha’s interest and caught her eye every time the pair walked into the guild although she couldn’t answer exactly why. Walking confidently into the guild for the second time that day, a feat that was becoming easier now that lines were reducing but not entirely gone. The pair strode up to a receptionist other than Margaretta who was currently out for her pre-lunch lunch. The plump woman, named Cindy according to her name tag, who greeted the adventurers spoke with a thick accent that reminded them of Roy mixed with chipmunk.
“Well, hi there! Welcome to the guild, how can I help you pretty little things?”
With the authority of a newly crowned king, Valerie announced their request.
“We want to see the Extermination contracts.”
Cindy’s face twisted slightly, and the chipper smile she always tried to maintain faltered. She gulped and looked the two adventurers over noticing their new spotless badges.
“Are y’all sure about that? We still have a lot of monsters that need getting.”
Cindy hadn’t worked for the guild for very long, but she nevertheless saw exactly what taking on those kinds of requests did to young people. Well, to those that came back more specifically, she tried not to think about those that didn’t. Undeterred, Valerie reaffirmed their position, and the reluctant Cindy was forced to pick out several of the red crossed contracts, laying them out in front of the duo. Valerie looked over the requests seeing there was a number for intelligent monsters piled in too such as goblins, orcs and kobolds. A few also listed various cults or dangerous sects that required investigation before a true extermination was conducted. The huntress examined each wondering what was best suited to their talents when she remembered Roland’s words and began to worry if she did steamroll Samantha’s opinion when it came to picking contracts. She was just about to ask her opinion when the shadow user picked up a random contract and set it down before Cindy.
“Let’s do this one.”
Confused at how spontaneous her friend was, Valerie inspected the jobs requirements. It read simply that there was a group of bandits about twenty or so strong who were holed up in an abandoned town at the edge of the kingdom. The details were so lacking and unimpressive it honestly looked like a template the guild would use more than an actual request.
“Why this one?”
Valerie asked utterly befuddled at the seemingly random selection to which Samantha shrugged.
“I dunno, just picked it. Doesn’t matter which one we do first right?”
A not incorrect answer as there was nothing stopping them from taking more of the same on, the extermination requests did still make up the vast majority of contracts on the guild jobs board. Samantha’s pick was also truly random, she didn’t have a real reason or get any odd feelings or premonitions about the contract. She simply picked it up and decided it was good enough. Valerie had no reason to disagree and after confirming details with a wary Cindy the two officially took on their first extermination job. Despite the aggressive name, extermination was not a requirement or even the goal of most jobs it was simply the name chosen to most accurately reflect the grave nature of some tasks. The job they had taken was to drive off the bandits using whatever means necessary which the two took to mean summarily beating the ever-loving snot out of the thieves before sending them packing. To them monsters deserved death for simply existing, people could change or learn from their ways and didn’t need to be taken out permanently.
Chartering a carriage, the two set out for the outskirts of the Gentile Kingdom near a mountain range referred to as Drakes Rest due to a local legend the peaks were once home to the monstrous dragon slain by the guilds founder. It was further out than either had ever been during their stay in the capital and the carriage driver could only take them so far. The rest of the way they were forced to go by foot, living off the land once again and returning to the hermit life. It was somewhat nostalgic for Valerie, staying up to watch over her friend, snug as a bug in her cozy cloak, it gave her time to reflect. She had done more than her fair share of that these days, life in the capital was just so much more complicated or perhaps it was just her gradual march into adulthood. She must be seventeen by now but like Samantha had no inclination when her birthday was anymore. She didn’t bother to count the days while out on the road and took longer than she’d liked before she could accurately read the date and time. Still the advances she and Samantha made in their year together was incredible, what would they accomplish in five, in ten years? Valerie stared at the gently sleeping face of her best friend, the person who helped kick start her life and was always there through it all.
“I’m not going to let you die.”
She promised the sleeping girl regardless of if she heard or not. She didn’t care what prophecy Samantha received or if the divine themselves came down and told the huntress her friend had to sacrifice herself to save the whole world. She would not let her go quietly; they were both going to live a long happy life no matter what. That was the silent declaration Valerie Hunt burned into her soul so no one could ever hope to take it away.
On the next morning while the two walked and talked they came across tracks, a few light footprints at first which soon became several deep indents from many pairs of feet. Following the trail at a reserved and cautious pace they eventually stumbled upon a little ransacked village at the foot of the mountain with several men coming and going from building to building. It was an utterly unremarkable place and most likely the bandit infestation was the most exciting thing to have ever happened to this small rinky-dink little town. Or it would have been, had it not been for an unfortunate addition to the town that grabbed one of the adventurers attention. Samantha froze upon seeing the settlement and gasped out an excited squeal.
“Oh em gee, were home!”
Valerie stared at her friend, her eyes asking the obvious question: ‘what home?’. Samantha hurriedly pointed to a sunken hole at the back of the abandoned town and without a hint of blackness stated.
“That’s it Val, that’s where I grew up! That’s the mine!”