Adam and Ruk finished their little shopping spree after a few hours. But describing the ordeal as such was underselling the sheer volume of their purchases and the many shops and stalls they came to visit. Despite that, by the end of it all, they still had a lot of money left over.

As it turned out, gold was worth a hundred silver, silver was worth a hundred copper, and copper was the smallest currency denomination.

They made a lot of purchases, but none of it would have been possible without the unexpected but welcome bounty reward they received for the capture of Felsha The Scythe. Adam didn't know what was going to happen to her since there was no announcement yet regarding her capture, but he knew that she would either rot in prison or be executed.

Such was the reality of justice in this world. Adam was in no position to question, especially after what he had seen inside that psychopathic mind.

The Rukdam Duo, to say the least, were now well-equipped and well-supplied. After purchasing the backpacks, several pouches, some waterskins, and leather bottles from the kind tailor, Adam and Ruk went and bought out what remained of their extensive list.

By the end of it, they had a mule pulling a wagon stacked and filled with their supplies and a large backpack on each of their shoulders. At first, Ruk thought it was weird that they still needed the backpacks after Adam made the decision to purchase the mule and wagon from a rancher when he realized that they were going to carry more than they could.

However, Adam explained to his partner that the backpacks would prove themselves important nonetheless, citing the possibility of leaving behind the wagon and needing to carry the most important supplies in case of emergency or any situation that warranted haste.

Ruk understood in the end. The orc didn't seem to mind that he was carrying something cumbersome on his back and that was most likely due to the fact that he was strong enough to just not care.

Meanwhile, Adam felt the weight of his backpack pulling him down as soon as it was filled. If not for the help of his telekinesis which he was using passively to lift the backpack and lessen the burden on his shoulders, he would not have had enough strength to carry on.

It was time for the both of them to make their way back to the guild and take their first quest. The afternoon streets were usually packed, and Adam expected the guild building to be brimming with other Adventurers and their parties. However, he recalled the branchmaster saying that most of the other Adventurer parties were out on quests, and some have taken longer to return than expected.

That said, when the Rukdam Duo arrived at the guild building and entered, they found no other Adventurer party in the lobby. Adam noticed that the guild building itself was much quieter from the last time they were here. There were less thoughts and emotions in the air for him to sense, and few minds for him to detect, which was both an odd change and an opportunity to keep his mind clear.

As they made their way to the front desk, Adam saw Dasha scribbling away on a scroll with a fierce look in her eyes. Sensing her mind, Adam found the elf to be somewhat stressed and tired, but otherwise determined to do her job.

Adam almost felt bad for needing to disturb her, but he and Ruk needed to find their first job. He knew that the guild had a quest board, but they weren't informed on what jobs they could take. Apparently, it depended on the overall rank and ability of the party. And since the Rukdam Duo was new and unproven, they needed some guidance and pointers.

Then a thought crossed Adam's mind. He hadn't learned about Ruk's rank at all. Wait, did non-mages even have ranks? He didn't know, and he felt stupid for not knowing. If they did, then what rank was Ruk? Wouldn't the rank disparity be a problem? Also, what did it mean for Ruk to be an orc berserker?

"Good afternoon, Ms. Dasha," Adam greeted the head clerk as he gave a simple wave, "We're here to take our first job."

Dasha paused her scribbling and looked up to see Adam and Ruk standing in front of her desk. Adam had a smile on his face, a simple and innocent thing. Ruk, meanwhile, had a grin that could frighten children and disturb even the old.

"Ah! You two. Good to see you back," Dasha said with a gleeful voice, "Finally ready to take on your first quest?"

Adam nodded while Ruk somehow made a grunt of agreement that sounded way too happy.

"I hope we're not disturbing you and doing this at an awkward time." Adam said.

"Not at all!" Dasha replied. She put away the scroll and clasped her hands together. It was time for business.

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"Well then, since the two of you belong to a new party and share the same rank in terms of personal skill sets, you're allowed to take on Grade E and F quests. The rewards are a bit low, but they're a good steppingstone! Once you accomplish these quests and prove yourselves capable, you'll become eligible for a guild rank-up, allowing you to do higher-grade quests."

Adam tilted his head in mild confusion, "A guild rank-up? That sounds different."

Dasha nodded, "Indeed it is. A guild rank-up is an advancement in your guild ranking and is entirely unrelated to your mage ranking. Currently your party has a guild ranking of F. But since the two of you have..."

Her voice turned to a whisper as she leaned across her desk and pulled herself near Adam, giving him a wink.

"Special talents and powers, you'll be given special exemptions. Hence the fact that you can do E-grade quests."

Dasha quickly leaned back and smiled, "That's about it! Do you have any further questions?"

Before Adam could answer, Ruk stepped forward and placed his large ax on the desk, as if presenting the large thing or making a statement. The young psychic didn’t know which. The fact that the desk didn't immediately collapse into the floor was a testament to its tough craftsmanship. It did creak though.

"Miss Elf! Am I gonna need my other arm here?" The orc said as he pointed towards his ax.

Dasha was seemingly unbothered by the Orc's actions as she glanced at the weapon and then at Ruk. "It depends on the quest, Mr. Ruk. But I'm sure you're going to need your 'other arm' sooner or later."

Satisfied with Dasha's answer, Ruk pulled the ax back on his shoulder and stepped aside, giving back the space to Adam. It seemed like the young man's partner was really more interested in the possibility of a fight than anything else.

At least he had someone capable to defend him if the need arose. That said, Adam doubted that the quests they were going to take up were gonna be violent or dangerous.

Mundane and boring, these were Adam's expectations. When the Rukdam Duo finally went to the quest board to find their first job, the young man found himself vindicated, and at the same time, somewhat disturbed by what they saw.

The quest board were seven boards arranged side by side and in ascending order from right to left. The quest boards containing the E-grade and F-grade job requests were the two furthest to the right.

Each of the boards were plastered over with parchments detailing job requests. A few of which looked to be several months old and somewhat rotted.

Compared to the other boards further to the left, the E and F quests boards were undoubtedly ignored in favor of the bigger, more lucrative quests.

At first, Adam wasn't at all bothered by the disparity since he figured that less-paying work attracted little attention. After all, if you were a capable Adventurer with good skills and abilities, you'd very much prefer to get paid according to what you can do best. E and Fs were therefore, unfortunately, below their pay grades.

But as Adam walked closer to the boards and skimmed over the posted parchment, he was disturbed by what he noticed. Every quest graded higher than E and F were posted by those in positions of power or wealth. Their names were hidden behind a title or position, presumably to preserve their anonymity which was a surprise in itself. He came across job postings from village elders, village chiefs, sea merchants, land merchants, lords, ladies, and even from higher nobles such as barons and dukes, and the Princess-Governor herself.

These jobs were all lucrative, with rewards ranging from several thousand silver to hundreds of gold depending on the type of job and who was requesting it. The jobs themselves didn't seem to be that hard.

With the exception of the escort requests, rescue missions, and extermination jobs, with the latter implying mass murder of a specific type of animal or some other form of creature, the jobs were otherwise mundane. Fetch quests, delivery quests, investigation quests, and retrievals didn't sound that hard or dangerous.

And even if Adam was underestimating the gravity of the jobs, his point still stood. If anyone wanted their jobs to be taken seriously, they needed to have a lot of money and influence.

Such a reality made the tragedies of those posting E and F grade quests more painful for Adam to look at and read about.

And there was one that caught his eye the most. It was a rotted piece of parchment and presumably already several months old. It had a crude signature written in the bottom right part from a man who claimed to be a father.

Reading the contents further, the parchment told a short but poignant story of a man who lost his family while he was away on an expedition through a heavily forested region to the west.

Upon his return, he found his frontier village burnt to the ground and his family nowhere to be found. He now claimed to want their bodies returned for a proper burial, knowing that his family was most likely dead.

The man just wanted to have some much-needed closure. The reward he was offering was 500 copper coins and fifty silver. It was definitely not much, and Adam assumed that the money was all the man had left.

Adam felt a familiar yet bitter aching in his heart as he grabbed the parchment from the board and began walking towards the front desk.

Ruk, meanwhile, saw the emotion on Adam's face, and the orc knew to keep quiet and to simply follow in his partner's wake.

The orc was different from his kin and was therefore labeled an outcast because of it. His journey to prove himself was but a way for him to finally receive the right to return home.

After all, an orc who cared more than just fighting for his clan was rare. And an orc who could cry was even rarer.

Unfortunately or fortunately, he was both. The orc held back his emotions as he managed to glance at the parchment Adam carried.

Adam didn't notice the emotions in Ruk's mind. And that was mostly because the young man was focused on something else and wasn't too bothered into looking too deep into the orc's thoughts and feelings.

Adam presented the parchment containing the quest to Dasha with a resounding thud as his hand met the desk. The head clerk skimmed over the contents as she eyed it with confusion and doubt. She then looked at the young man standing in front of her and saw the emptiness reflected on his eyes.

The elf then understood - though little - that Adam wanted this specific quest, not for the sake of reward or advancement in rank, but because he wanted to help.