Shun POV:
“...You still won’t join, Shun?”
I shifted my gaze to Phoebe, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand. During the past month, I ended up interacting with her party more than I thought I would. Eventually, I considered them to be acquaintances...
Barely.
I let out a sigh at Phoebe’s annoying persistence.
“Under one condition.”
Colour reignited the vibrance of her amber eyes. She moved her hand away from her face and sat up straight.
“Really? What?”
“There’s a woman I want to join the party with me.”
Her excitement faded. Phoebe pouted to the side while folding her arms.
“Do you like he—“
“No, she’s an Elementalist. In order to crush B Rank Dungeons and above, she is necessary.”
The guild was holding back on giving me higher-ranked dungeons; the equivalent of stunting my growth, so using these guys would benefit me in the end.
Phoebe thought over my suggestion for some time before giving me an answer.
“We have a deal then, but you’ll need to convince her to join. Where can I find her?”
“Kibo’s Smithy. She’s a regular there.”
Her eyebrows fell, somewhat put out by the fact that I was aware of another woman’s schedule.
“Leave it to me.”
I gave her a nod and walked off. My lips curved upward at this result since Phoebe wouldn’t find any faults with that woman, so bringing her over wouldn’t be an issue.
‘C Rank Dungeons in this area are useless to me now.’
I made my way back to my room on the 5th floor and sat on the bed. The original plan was to convince Juri to join Phoebe’s party with me, but she vanished 2 weeks ago. It was suspicious; however, people had their own lives here, and that included moving to different cities or countries.
Those were my thoughts till another receptionist, Minji, explained that Juri had left with a man. Her statement caused an uproar in the guild. Nearby adventurers outside the establishment also flocked in to demand that Minji elaborate.
All she knew was that the man had very pale skin, wore a black hat, and was extremely attractive, according to the receptionist working the front desk at the time. Minji frowned at his description, while the rest of the male adventurers looked dispirited.
“That isn’t Juri’s type, though? But then again, Juri doesn’t do dates in the first place. She’s actually a lon—“
She covered her mouth, stopping herself from saying anything further.
“Ahem... A lovely person, yeah.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I studied that memory in detail.
“...She can’t be a Ravendawn.”
If Juri really was one, Chloe would have already been informed about my current whereabouts. Since I couldn’t use Juri, I needed to utilise other options instead.
I put those thoughts aside and closed my eyes. This time would be used to rest my body befo—
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[Mission: Find Juri
Difficulty: X
Juri has disappeared from the guild with a mysterious man. Locate her and bring her back to Chunhae Village.
Time Limit: 2 Days.
Rewards: Juri’s Lessons + Hidden Secrets + Change of Fate.
Failure: Null.]
“X??”
It was what I figured: Juri wasn’t the average receptionist working the front desk. Beads of sweat ran down my forehead at the difficulty that had never appeared before.
‘...’
I had to give up on it since other plans were already made.
“Juri’s Lessons, Hidden Secrets, and even a Change of Fate... Just... who is she?...”
An annoyed sigh left my mouth before I dispelled the mission window. There was nothing I could do.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[Mission: Rest & Recovery
Difficulty: B+
Revenge is tempting, but the body needs rest. Stay inside Yeongyeol for the next 2 days, and let your newfound anger fester.
Time Limit: 2 Days.
Reward: Full recovery.
Failure: Stamina drain doubles for the next 24 hours.]
If I chose to go after Juri, I’d suffer the penalty. The system was telling me to commit to one or the other, hence the difficulty was B+.
I got off the bed, tempted to find her. I took a seat against the bedroom wall, rested my arm over my knee and pulled up every facet of information regarding Juri but quickly drew a blank.
All of my interactions with her occurred when I requested dungeons. There were no chance meetings outside of the guild either.
‘...’
Other than the fraction of her unknown strength that she demonstrated, there was nothing aside from Minji. Based on how she spoke about Juri, she seemed to know her on a more personal level; that was my only lead.
“Full recovery...”
I moved my Troll clothes to the side and took off the black vest. Bandages hid the hundreds of aching wounds and severe bruises scattered across my body.
The timing of this damn system was as irritating as always.
“It’s just not viable.”
I flopped back onto the bed and closed my eyes. It didn’t take long for sleep to come to me.
***
Juri POV:
“Juri, can you not run off like that again?”
I stared at the wooden wall of the small cabin located on the outskirts of Amekawa: a country away from all three continents. Chunhae Village was my last destination in Sharir, but that turned out to be a failure too.
Lucian’s playful chuckle made my eyebrows twitch. Even with the passage of time crawling past us, he somehow remained the same as always.
“Any luck yet?”
“No. Maybe he needs to find me.”
Lucian’s laughter faded into the abyss at my words. An unwelcome silence descended upon the cabin.
“That is impossible, Duchess Juri.”
The rare seriousness in his voice was an indicator that I had spoken out of line. I knew... he had been searching far longer than I had.
“...”
My lip quivered.
It was a thoughtless remark borne out of a deep frustration.
My head fell forward, and black hair draped over my shoulders. It reached down to my thin waist but couldn’t offer me any comfort, no matter how tight it clung to the slender frame.
Droplets of water splashed against the table.
Two violet-coloured contacts: a Legend grade Ki Artifact, lay on the wet surface. It increased the practitioner’s eyesight and improved their ability to read the Flow of Ki. Both benefits were useless, so I only wore them to hide the colour of my eyes. For anyone else, they would feel a slight discomfort, but for me...
It was painful.
Once my shift was over, this was what I did. I stared at the four corners of whatever simple room I rented out alone.
Loneliness.
That was my only companion till they both found me. They taught me more about myself and introduced me to others who experienced the same fate.
But then loneliness came in a different form.
The strength I obtained did nothing to satiate the longing my heart craved for. Every beat, every pump, every time these eyes opened, that same feeling made the tears fall.
Lucian rested his hand on my shoulder and rubbed it. The tears continued to stream down my cheeks when I parted my lips.
“Lucian, I need to keep searching for him.”
“Then keep in contact this time. And...”
Kindness and care replaced the sternness. The light tone, layered with understanding, was always present in Lucian’s voice. He was a wonderful man; no one could convince me otherwise.
“Stay strong, Juri.”
I bit my lip and nodded my head. These were the only times where I could reconnect with my lost emotions. I... would find him.
I had to find him.
I need to find him.
“Thank you, Lucian. Please tell the others I am alive and well.”
***
Shun POV:
My eyes flashed open, and the first thing I did was examine the state of my body. I felt rejuvenated, but it had nothing to do with the damn system. It was due to the fact that I slept for the entire two days.
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[The mission ‘Find Juri’ has been terminated.]
“...”
My eyebrows furrowed at the floating window that vanished after a few seconds. The rewards from the ‘Find Juri’ mission were the only real ones the system had offered me so far.
The likelihood of Juri being in a different country rather than a different city was high. My ability would have worked if she was close by, but the rebound and restrictions increased proportionate to the distance between myself and the target.
I threw on my Troll clothes and left my room. Once I reached the ground floor, I saw an elegant woman capturing the attention of everyone in the area. She took a sip from a teacup while a few men gasped at her mannerisms.
I glanced at Phoebe, resting her cheek against her hand.
“That’s her, right?”
“Yeah.”
I walked past the front desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite her.
“I believe you are supposed to ask before sitting, or am I mistaken?”
Her speech was eloquent; each word enunciated with a clarity that captivated the ears of nearby adventurers. She made eye contact when she spoke, exhibiting no signs of shyness but a deep confidence within every movement she made.
“I want you in my party.”
“May I ask why?”
“I want to crush B Rank Dungeons, and I need your versatility.”
She placed the teacup down on the saucer and rested one hand on top of the other with perfect posture.
‘...Is she a noble?’
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the elegant woman. It took them a few seconds to snap out of their daze, giving us privacy once more.
“You are only at upper Shin.”
The veins on the side of my head bulged as I glared at her. I calmed down a second later. I needed her for those damn dungeons.
“Please value your life more.”
She turned to a waitress and thanked her for the tea. The refined woman excused herself from the table when I grabbed her wrist.
“Grabbing a lady as she tries to leave? Have you no manners?”
My observation continued, noting the slight change in her demeanour that caused a faint pressure to emanate from her. She narrowed her pure blue eyes, waiting for an adequate explanation of the discourtesy she had been shown.
However, my bloodlust began to leak out. My pupils dilated as I matched her gaze.
“I wasn’t done talking. I need you in my party, so let’s fight. I’ll prove my strength through actions, not words.”
“And what if I do not wish to become one of these so-called Adventurers?”
I clenched my teeth and let go of her wrist.
“Then I will apologise for my rudeness. I won’t force anyone to do anything for me.”
A warm smile spread across her face at my answer.
“I understand. My name is Katherine Brightfield. Let us head to a more private place.”
She bowed her head and walked off. The corners of my mouth rose at this outcome I had planned weeks ago.
‘Good.’
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[Mission: Recruit Katherine Brightfield
Difficulty: A
A woman who turns the heads of men wherever she goes, but her purity is matched by few.
Reward: Katherine Brightfield will join your party.
Failure: Katherine Brightfield will leave Chunhae Village.]
I got to my feet and ignored the visible sadness on Phoebe’s face from the interaction just now. I signalled for her to bring the party before looking back at the closed doors to Yeongyeol.
‘It’s time I show everyone my ability.’