As I was sleeping in my hammock, the sun was not enough to wake me up. The day before has been more exhausting than I expected, and I went to sleep later than I should have. With Hybry cuddled in my arm, I could have slept way longer if it wasn’t for Tara swinging my hammock left and right, forcing me to wake up.
The bed offered by the inn looked extremely comfy, but having been in a bed for as long as I can remember, I wasn’t going to go back in one anytime soon. Last night, I asked Tara to make me a web hammock. As she could now take the bed entirely for herself, she wasn’t hard to convince.
After some stretching, I was still feeling a bit sleepy, but it was time to start the day. Dress in my usual attire, I knocked on Lavanda's door to check if she was still in her room, but nobody answered. Wondering where she was, I walked down to the first floor and found Clory shuffling a pile of paper, double-checking information she has written herself.
“Good morning, Clory,” I said, making her notice me. Stopping her work, she looked full of energy and I couldn’t find any trace of fatigue in her.
“Good morning, Lady Emery, may I assist you in any way,” As it was her job to take care of customers, I thought that she maybe could answer my question.
“Have you seen Lavanda this morning? I checked her room, but she wasn’t there.”
“Yes, Miss Lavanda and Miss Caryly have left earlier with Lady Phyralia and Lady Reilia. I am afraid I do not know where they are now.”
“Thanks. I have things to do today, so I be off too. I will probably be back before it gets dark.”
“Understood, do you wish for us to feed your familiar on the roof in your stead? It will cost extra, but you can pay later if needed.” I didn’t know they offered this kind of service, but right now, they were fine. I also don’t like the idea of buying a service when I didn’t have any money, so I turn her offer down.
“No, thank you, they are fine for now. They can survive a few days without being too hungry if needed.”
Leaving her to her work, I got back to my room and picked some loot I thought could sell for a decent price. With a bag full of material and Tara and Hybry following me, I set off to the guild.
Guessing that it was probably close to ten in the morning, the city was busy with street sellers trying to sell their products to any passerby and merchants promoting their store products. A few food stalls caught my familiar attention with their delicious grilled meat smell, but as I didn’t have any money yet, I couldn’t afford anything. The sooner I sell the loot, the sooner we could buy whatever caught our attention. With that in mind, I walked faster, both to escape this delicious food and get money to buy said food.
Arriving in front of the guild building, I ignore the sound of our stomachs and stepped inside. As it was a bit late in the morning, most adventurers have already left for their quest as it was better to finish as soon as possible. With most adventurers off, there were few adventurers left inside, either drinking or waiting for something or someone, I didn’t know. Tara and Hybry must have caught their attention, as when they spotted my familiars, they looked and recognized me as the new adventurer with two dragons.
They started murmuring between each other, about if it was really me or if the rumours were even real. They probably thought that they couldn’t be heard, but with my elven hearing, I was able to hear what they were saying.
“Dude, you can’t be serious. She looks like any of these noble pricks, just prettier.”
“She has that spider with her, so must it be her. I wonder if I have my chance.”
“Forget it, I heard some staff members talking about how she’s an A rank. There is no way she settles for C rank like us. If even Sophia learns that you tried, you probably never get to B rank, ever.”
“On top of that, just think about if she let that spider free on you. She must be talented to be able to tame something that even expert avoid messing with, let alone the fact that she have two dragons.”
It seems I was already the talk of the guild and maybe even the town, but as long as it didn’t cause me problems, dealing with the rumour could wait.
Going to the counter where I was told I could sell my loot, I greeted the receptionist and handed her my bag. Showing her my guild card, she did a quick inspection of the content, and took off to a back room with the materials, telling me she will be back in a few minutes as she needed to appraise the quality, before settling on a price.
With a few minutes of free time, I headed to the main counter where I spotted Sophia, talking in detail with an adventurer wanting to take a quest. It wasn’t long before he was good to go, and I had her for the next couple of minutes.
“Hi, Sophia what up,”
“Oh Hi, Emery, I didn’t expect to see you so late.” With a surprised smile, she had her welcoming attitude, showing that even if she wasn’t expecting me, she was happy that I was there.
“It's not that late, I’m pretty sure we are still in the morning!”
“Yes, but most adventurers wake up as soon as the sun is up to be able to get the best quest they can as soon as possible. At this hour, most of the interesting quests have already been taken, so what is left is mostly jobs that people rather avoid.”
“I thought so, but I’m not an early bird, so it is almost impossible for me to compete with them. Guess I have a look at what is left.”
“Don’t worry, as A rank adventurer are rare, fewer quest of that rank is taken each day, even if the number of A-ranked quests is lower than other lower rank, you have a good chance to have something decent waiting on the board dedicated for A rank quest.”
“Thanks! I take a look at it to see if there is anything I’m interested in, I let you know.”
As each rank of quests had its own board, it was easy to find quests of a specific rank. With around twenty paper hanging, I had a decent number of options. From gathering and delivering rare material from dangerous areas to hunting monsters having built their nest near populated villages, there was about everything you could expect for an adventurer guild.
Looking more closely at some of the pages, they all included a description of what was needed to do, with some added detail to make the job easier. As it cost a lot of money, most quests were posted by those who could afford it. With the exception of a few villages that gathered the money for extermination quests, noble families were the source of most jobs. There was one sponsored by the guild, and it showed to have a very lucrative reward, but the quest asked to map a new part of the dungeon, so it wasn’t in my expertise.
Finding out that a dungeon existed was still really exciting! It wondered what kind of dungeon it was. Maybe it resembles the one in video games, with multiple floors to descend until you reach the very end and fight with a dangerous boss for the reward it can leave behind. I would find the answer for myself one day, but unfortunately, it had an extremely dangerous sign added to it, so it’s better to ignore it for now.
With some jobs catching my attention with their reward, I decided to wait a little bit longer until picking one. If the money I obtain from all the loot ended up being sufficient, I could start with something more relaxed and maybe even skip today altogether.
I still have some more loot back at home if I needed just a little more money, and as I just arrived in Dawnriver, I would like to explore the city and get a hang of the surrounding area. Learning about magic, monster, and common thing could also prove useful as I’m still new to this world.
After waiting one more minute, the receptionist finally came back with a pouch of money and a sheet of paper. Enumerating all the material I gave her with the price offered by the guild, it gave a summary of the total transaction. When I finished reading, she asked me if everything was fine with me, and I nodded. Taking the pouch, I officially made money for the first time in my life.
With fifteen gold coins and eight silver, I had enough money to last me another week, and this one barely started, so a day off it would be. Or so I thought until Sophia call out to me as I was about to leave the guild.
“Hey, Emery, I have a new quest asking specifically for you, can you come here!” As she’s been extremely friendly with me, I felt obliged to at least listen to her request. Even if the idea of a day off was extremely hard to take out of my mind now that I know I could afford it.
“Okay, what is this quest you talked about?”
“Here, I just finish writing the official detail.” Handing me the sheet she had been writing, she continued. “We need you to escort one of our researchers into territory near the countryside that has been plagued recently. As the poison is too potent for anyone to survive, we need someone with a plague affinity like you to protect our field researcher when she is doing her job.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“And I be protected her from what exactly? I’m not very familiar with the area, so I don’t really know what I should expect.”
“That's the thing, we're not sure what's out there.” How can they not know what they’re dealing with? If they know the general area, they should have an idea of what creature is living there, especially since most job pass by the guild. With how many adventurers they have doing quests, there must be at least some information.
Seeing my dubious face, she wasted no time explaining herself.
“That is why we need to send someone to analyze the current ecosystem and take notes. The plague element got a tendency to drastically change whatever it affects, and we need to see what is new and what is not.”
“Okay, I kinda get it, but why do you need me specifically? There must be some more experience adventurer better fitted for the job!”
“Experienced, yes, I can think of a few reliable adventurers that have proven themselves on this kind of mission. The problem is that none of them possess a plague affinity like you do. Without it, they would die in no time after reaching the plagued land in question. You’re the only adventurer with a plague affinity in all of Dawnriver. We requested someone from guilds in other cities, but it seems that they are as short-handed as we are.”
“Fine, but what about the person I’m supposed to escort? They must have a plague affinity, right? I know I can cure poison to some extent, but I’m pretty sure I can’t protect someone else entirely from the poison.”
“We are fine on that part. Our representative is going to drink a special potion to protect herself from the poison. You won’t have to worry about her getting poison at all during the quest. Unfortunately, this potion is extremely expensive and rare, so we only have one at our disposition.”
Giving me some time to think, I carefully read the mission detail to be sure I didn’t miss anything. Even if it specified that there was a risk of unexpectedly strong monsters appearing, this should be a calm mission, as the area was mostly habited by non-hostile monsters and animals.
The one tiny little detail she didn’t mention that my eyes did catch at the bottom of the paper was the reward. 30 shiny and extremely appealing gold coins. With that, I could spend the next weeks without having to worry about the industrial quantity of food that we eat or my very expensive shelter. The job mentioned that the travel would take up to three days, but with Lendwrek we could be there in max 5 hours. Meaning that if everything goes well, we be back before night and at worst tomorrow. I really couldn’t resist a quest potentially as easy and lucrative for my first quest as an adventurer.
And so I accepted. After signing the quest, Sophia fetched the researcher I would protect.
The lady in question looked in her early thirties, with black hair and a witch hat. Wearing a blue robe with a yellow outline, her outfit didn’t show much of her very pale skin, she also had a bag overflowing with books hanging on her shoulder. With a folded fur hood attached to her robe, I couldn’t help but think that she was rather sensitive to cold.
“The name, Latie, I look forward to working with you.” Holding out her hand, it took me a moment to realize she was hoping for a handshake.
“... Same, I’m Emery.” Taking her hand in mine, her grip what way stronger than I expected, and I looked at the bag she was holding. With how many books there were in her bag, no wonder she was physically strong! She’s holding her bag like there is nothing but air in it. It almost had me wondering if she even needed protection, but I guess it better be safer than sorry. If she ever found herself in a dangerous situation alone, there was no telling what could happen.
“Are you ready to depart immediately? We can borrow one of the guild carriages until we reached the current border of the newly plagued lands. There, we will need to continue on foot, as most mounts don’t have any resistance to poison. If we leave now, we can be back before the end of the week. ”
“I already have our transportation, so don’t worry, I handle the travel. We will be there in no time!” At my words, Sophia couldn’t help, but let escape a little muffled laugh, as it seems that Latie didn’t know my not very well hidden trump card. She looked confused at Sophia's reaction but didn’t say anything about it.
“Perfect, then we can go!” She said, oblivious to what kind of transport we will be using.
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?????
On the blacony of his manor, a single man with short blond hair in his twenties was sitting on a couch looking at a faraway building. On top of it, a single dragon was sleeping peacefully. There was originally another one, but it left with what he thought was two or three people on top of it.
Slowly drinking his scarlet drink, he admired the beauty of Dawnriver. As his family was extremely successful due to their expedition in the dungeon, he could enjoy some of the best services offered by the city. His family manor was one of the bigger construction in the entire city, and he was proud of his lineage.
As the oldest son in his family, he would soon be the head of the family, but, there was one minor problem with his plan. Other noble lineages, like his, have recently found great profit in the main dungeon. As he normally spent his time leisurely enjoying himself in the manor, his competitors have gained a significant amount of renown and were now threatening to steal his family's glory, and that was out of the question.
Even worse, his father has recently lost his life hunting in the dungeon. Having been an A rank, the man wonders what monster could have struck down his father and the elite team of adventurers that were with him at the time. As he hadn’t gone to the dungeon in a long time, he was a little bit out of touch with its current condition. Rumours of new, stronger monsters appearing have been running around recently, and he originally wondered if it was wise to continue exploring the dungeon with the potential increase in danger.
Being a renowned family of dungeon explorers, he had to take on the risk if he wanted to keep his family on top of others. Not knowing any other way to ensure his future, he had no other choice than to take his chance in the dungeon.
It wasn’t to say he would challenge it alone. Having amassed an unimaginable amount of money over his years of dungeon delving, his father left him with a literal fortune. With that money, he could buy the best equipment available and not on the market, as well as hire high-ranked adventurers to ensure his safety.
Being B rank, the man filled the rank condition to enter the dungeon. With all the danger living in these underground and mysterious tunnels, a person needs to be B rank or higher to enter the dungeon, otherwise, they weren’t allowed in.
He originally planned to hire multiple A-rank adventurers to accompany him, but when the servant he sent to hire them returned, he was met with discouraging news.
“Master, it seems that there is not enough, A rank adventurer, in town, to satisfy your desire.” The maid said. With her dark scarlet hair and ample chest, the woman was what most men would consider beautiful, but the man she served had absolutely no desire for her body. The original reason he bought her from the richest slave trader in the country was for her unique affinity. If others learned what she could do, they wouldn’t waste any time and kidnap her immediately.
Behind her was a massive feral wolf man. Having only a groin clothe covering his private part, the beast was there to ensure the safety of the maid. Originally a normal man from the wolf folk race, he had endured countless transformations and magical abuse that have transformed him into what is called a werewolf. Retaining mere fragments of sanity and logic, the werewolf functioned mostly on his instinct. Without the slave collar around the werewolf's neck, the man would have been torn to shred a long time ago.
It has been almost two years now since he assigned the werewolf to the maid, and it seems as if she finally got somewhat of a better handle on him than before. Obeying the maid more than his master, the werewolf growled at the man but was shut down by the maid.
“Did you learn why?”
“Yes, entire parties of adventurers are missing after having departed for the deepest part of the dungeon, only a few of them escaped and in their current, are incapable of dungeon delving.”
“What about B-rank adventurers?”
“As they avoid the most dangerous areas, you should be able to hire sufficiently good adventurers at the top of B rank. With enough manpower, quality equipment, and careful exploration, there should be little problem in the dungeon.”
“Great. Also, did you learn anything about these two dragons and their master?” He said, looking at the dragon topping the far-off building.
“Yes, they are the familiar of a teenage A-rank girl. She is new in town and only got her rank yesterday. She possesses two more known familiars, a spider and a small hydra, it is possible that she has more familiars, but I wasn’t able to obtain more information. Staying at the Shinning Bedding Inn, she has the money and connection to afford such an establishment, as to stay at this inn, a person needs to be recommended. The guild seems rather protective of her, and rumours are that she knows two S-tier adventurers.”
“Interesting.” Was the man's only answer. If he could get his hand on her and her two dragons, his plan was bound for success. A-rank adventurers were expensive to buy, even more, when it comes to personal requests, but he did have the spare change for it. With his money and connections and her talent and her familiars, there was no limit to what he could achieve. He would need to be careful on how to get her on his side, messing up was not an option. But before any of that, he needed to know one more thing that could change the way he will approach her.
“Is she good-looking?”
“By your standard or normal standard?” She asked.
“My standard.” He answered blatantly.
Taking a moment to think about her answer, the man waited for the truth. As his ego was only as big as his purse, his standards were difficult to match, even by noble ladies with the money for beauty products. To this day, he still hasn’t found a woman beautiful enough to marry. Most of his friends have called him delusional to have refused the advance of so many beauties, but he wouldn’t settle for less than his idea of perfection.
“I heard a general description of her and most of the people have seen her call her cute and noble-like, even though she is a commoner. Yes, I believed you may find her to your taste. Although you should judge that yourself.”
“Perfect, gather as much information on her as possible, and pay for it if you need to. With the guild and S rank adventurer in the way, I need to be careful about what I do. Also, check the market for any high-quality items and equipment. You can go.”
Leaving her master to his wine, the maid left with the werewolf behind her.
As it was only noon, the man still had some time left before he had to attend parties thrown by other noble families. Normally preferring to be alone, he would try his best to gather as much information as possible from them, as they have no doubt also notice the recent event.
With how much the future of his family depended on the near future, he will use everything in his power to make sure that he would succeed. After all, maybe he finally found the love of his life he had been searching for.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t think that this girl, contrary to most easily impress ladies, was going to become his worse nightmare. He would soon learn that he never had a chance in the first place.