Act One - The city where anything can happen
> Narrator PoV <
The city of Runetap. The largest trade city in the Kingdom of Ferseit, built on the crossroads of two major highways. Population at any given time exceeds 400,000 people, but only half of those were permanent residents. Most of those living here, permanently or otherwise, were human. Elves, dwarves and cat-folk were in the minority, but they were still a common sight.
It was by no means a quiet place. Merchant wagons struggle to pass each other in the busy streets. Loud cheers can be heard from numerous bars and restaurants. Fights and disputes often broke out in the street. At first glance Runetap a noisy place that attracts trouble. However, the sheer amount of trouble that reared its head was staggering.
Not even 150 years old, it has been visited by disaster time and time again.
Like 120 years ago, when a mad wizard raised an army of undead rats. He terrorized the people with disease and plague before succumbing to a violent cough in the sewers.
Or 98 years ago, when a massive earthquake split open the very earth. It had released previously unknown insect-like monsters onto the streets.
Then there was the time 70 years ago when a vampire cult was wiped out. They had nearly released an army of demons.
Let's not forget 43 years ago when the rat wizard came back to life. He resumed his plans for world domination with his new assistant, a fully sentient rodent named Pinky. The City Guard was ready for him this time - they quickly dispersed the threat.
Or how about that incident 19 years ago when a High Dragon flew over the town and dropped a house-sized piece of dung on it. It crashed into and collapsed the city’s fort.
That’s not even mentioning the regular invasions from monsters. Goblins, orcs, trolls, skeletons - all manner of beasts threaten the city on an almost weekly basis, only to be repelled by the experienced and dutiful soldiers of the City Guard.
Runetap's citizens call it "the city where anything can happen" with a bittersweet smile. Today as well, it would live up to that nickname.
* * *
"Look I'm telling you I can handle it!" (Kiressara)
The young woman slammed both of her hands onto the countertop.
"Miss Quasse, please understand if I don't follow these rules, the branch head will yell at me. My job is on the line here." (Receptionist)
He refused to let her take a commission from the guild.
"But I completed a Rank C job just last week!" (Kiressara)
The job in question was a simple troll subjugation mission - clear out the den of trolls and bring back their jaw bones as proof of the deed. The young mage by the name of Kiressara mil Quasse was a Rank C adventurer capable of fulfilling such a job on her own.
"And I'm telling you, the guild has changed its policy. We cannot approve solo commissions of the same or higher rank anymore." (Receptionist)
"But WHY?" (Kiressara)
Her long, scarlet hair, tied in a loose ponytail, flailed behind her as she complained vehemently to the middle-aged receptionist in front of her.
"I'm told it's to protect talented individuals from their own greed and conceit." (Receptionist)
The receptionist flashed her a look, almost as if that rule was made specifically for her. Even though it wasn’t the case, he had never appreciated her attitude. Deep down, he was enjoying the current situation. The misfortune of others is always entertaining, after all.
“May I suggest you pick a Rank D or lower job?” (Receptionist)
"But I can't raise my rank with those!" (Kiressara)
Adventurers needed to do jobs befitting their rank. Doing so lets them pile up achievements and eventually get promoted. That, in turn, allows them access to higher-ranked jobs which came with a significant increase in both risk and reward.
So while a Rank C like Kiressara could accept jobs Rank B or below, only those ranked B or C would allow her to pile up achievements. But having been denied that, she was now unable to climb up to her goal - the coveted Rank A.
This was the crux of her problem.
"Miss Quasse, may I suggest you just join a team?" (Receptionist)
"Don't say 'join a team' like it's that easy!" (Kiressara)
"Then, will you be taking a rank D commission? If not I must ask you to leave as you are holding up the line." (Receptionist)
"Grrr, this isn't over!" (Kiressara)
The female mage pointed threateningly at the receptions before turning towards the exit and striding off in a huff.
"Oi oi, the Crackhead is at it again." (Adventurer 1)
"As usual, the head is bad." (Adventurer 2)
"Really she should calm down and get a man already." (Adventurer 3)
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"Yeah, she's probably just frustrated." (Adventurer 2)
"Gyahaha! Maybe I should go offer my help, eh?" (Adventurer 1)
"Watch yourself! She's packing some serious offensive power! Kyahaha!" (Adventurer 3)
Enduring such comments from the other adventurers in the line behind her, she steadily grew more and more annoyed at the situation. By the time she actually made it outside the Adventurer’s Guild building she was practically fuming.
Her off-white Basilisk Leather armor tried its best to reflect the midday sun, but long use and harsh conditions had long ago taken away its shine. Kiressara kept walking down the street, quietly seething at her predicament.
‘Join a team’ was indeed the solution. However, it was far from simple. There were nothing but male adventurers in the city, and all of them stared at her with indecent eyes.
Is it because of my breasts? I think they might’ve gotten bigger again… (Kiressara)
Kiressara lamented the useless lumps of fat on her chest. They really were entirely too big, bordering on being impractical. They even caused the occasional back pain. Kiressara always hated the wrong kind of attention she got from her surroundings.
What is it with men who become adventurers? It’s like there’s a mandatory requirement for them to be total pigs! Or are my breasts somehow the causing this behavior?
The fact of the matter was, there were simply too few female adventurers. And none of them lived in Runetap. The few that tried were often harassed incessantly - not too different from how Kiressara was treated earlier.
Although things were better in other places, it was not by much. The vast majority of female adventurers never made it past the initial Rank F before quitting. Even fewer kept going past Rank D. Kiressara was one of those.
Verbal harassment was something she was already used to. Anyone who dares to touch her without her approval got immediately zapped with a short-range [Shock] spell, knocking them out. An unfortunate exception to this were the armorers and blacksmiths that made the purchase of new equipment an ordeal for her.
It's the breasts, isn't it? (Kiressara)
Those craftsmen were obviously men. And all of them wanted to fondle the obvious mounds on her chest. They used excuses like “performing measurements” and even had the gall to demand additional payment for “having to expand the chest area.”
It's definitely the breasts. (Kiressara)
Kiressara was in a pickle. She was unquestionably capable - she made it all the way to Rank C in just two years. This was an achievement that took most people at least five years of hard work and the sign of a veteran adventurer. She had accomplished this completely on her own, relying on her quick wits, accurate judgement, formidable magic and large mana pool.
Maybe the excess mana is accumulating in my breasts and making them grow larger? (Kiressara)
Quickly abandoning that silly thought, Kiressara once again considered the drawbacks of joining a team. While it was true that having more people meant the jobs would be easier, it also meant that the rewards would have to be divided. This was part of the reason why her rank had climbed so much faster than the rest of her peers.
After all, if a team of three people and a team of six people both completed the same number of jobs in the same amount of time, it would be obvious which one had more capable people. Therefore, as a solo adventurer who prided herself in efficiency, it was only natural she would be promoted two or three times faster than normal.
However, that possibility was now taken away from her. If she wanted to achieve her dream of attaining Rank A and all the special privileges that came with it, it was absolutely necessary to join a team. And while she did receive several invitations to various (obviously all-male) teams, she rejected all of them. Their ability might not have been in question, but their motives could not be trusted.
Their target was, as expected, my breasts? (Kiressara)
Her luck truly had ran out. Completely refusing to join a team, the only thing left for her to do was to keep earning a living through low-rank jobs and hope the Guild overturns that stupid rule soon. In truth, she had a pretty good idea about what caused this rather sudden policy change.
While it was generally frowned upon in the adventurer community, solo adventurers were not banned from taking high-ranking jobs. If they got hurt or killed, it would be entirely their own fault for misjudging their own strength.
That was, until about a month ago. A rich noble’s son got in over his head. He mistook the strength of his comrades - thugs hired by his father to keep an eye on him - as his own. He got cocky and challenged a Cyclops subjugation commission all by himself. A humanoid five-meter tall slab of muscle covered in thick rock-like skin, the Cyclops is a dangerous monster classified as a Rank B threat. Since the regulations allowed it, the reckless Rank C adventurer was free to take this job.
After locating the target, his first attack was an extraordinarily foolish one. He threw his spear at the monster’s sole eye. He missed and hit the monster in the forehead, the thick skull easily repelling the spear. Having its obvious weak spot targeted, the Cyclops flew into a rage and retaliated with an uprooted tree he used as a club. The foolish nobleman barely managed to escape with his life, but both his legs were crushed into pulp as a result.
So the father, instead of accepting the situation as his son’s own stupidity, completely blamed it on the Adventurer’s Guild. He made a huge deal of it and tried to turn it into a scandal. Unable to ignore the demands of a high-ranking noble like that, the Guild had to do something. In truth, although for the wrong reasons, the newly established policy regarding solo adventurers wa not a wrong one.
“Haaah. I’ll just depress myself if I keep moping around here. I guess I should pay a visit to the church…” (Kiressara)
Having decided to derail her increasingly depressing thoughts, Kiressara made her way towards the Church of Enuri near the south gate. It was a large imposing building made out of stone. Just as she was about to climb the stone steps to the entrance, she abruptly stopped and gazed at the sky to the north.
“Huh?” (Kiressara)
Without being sure of the reason herself, she kept staring the partially cloudy sky.
“As expected, there’s nothing there, huh?” (Kiressara)
As expected? Was there supposed to be something there? She kept scanning the sky while standing in the middle of the street like a lamp post. It was a perfectly normal blue sky with a perfectly normal sun, perfectly normal clouds and perfectly normal star twinkling in the distance.
“Huh? Star?!” (Kiressara)
Okay, that last bit was not actually normal. Even though she found the anomaly oddly cute, it was clearly not supposed to be there. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. Other people became curious as to what this red-haired blue-eyed woman was staring at and followed her gaze.
"Ohh, it moved!" (Old man)
"It's even getting bigger!" (Guy)
"How mysterious!" (Girl)
Sure enough, they noticed the anomaly too, looking on it with the sort of curious amusement one would normally get from watching two ants restle.
"Wait, rather isn't it actually getting closer?" (Man)
"Haha, surely that can't be right." (Guy)
"Mhm, just our imagination." (Girl)
"Just been in the sun too long, that's all. Haha." (Old man)
Confronted with the absurdness that seemed too much even for Runetap, the people started nodding along in unison. It almost looked like they were performing a strange ritual to reject this reality where a star was about to fall onto their city. As if by ignoring it, they would conjure a spell to make it disappear.
Such a spell doesn't exist though. (Kiressara)
Kiressara on the other hand had quietly accepted this reality instead of running away from it. Somehow, almost instinctively, she felt that the thing in the sky was not really a star. It was simply something really big that was on fire. Having concluded the sky was not literally falling down on her, she decided it would be best to quietly vacate the area before the inevitable panic broke out.
"Hey… That's a star, isn't it? A star is falling towards us right now, isn't it?!" (Man)
She was too little too late.