**THE GUILD**

"Hey, did you hear?" A ranger asked, setting down his beer mug. "I heard they found more bodies in Starfrost Burrows the other day. It wasn't the work of a serpent either."

A heavy-set man downed his beer, foam seeping from the corners of his mouth before slamming down his mug.

"Oooh yeh, I heard about aaat too." The heavy-set man slurred, his cheeks flushed.

"Really?" A female ranger in her late twenties asked.

She sported a large witch's hat and a revealing outfit that brought attention to her cleavage. She lounged back in her chair with her legs crossed casually, gently swirling the drink in her shot glass. "It's rather impressive he's managed to escape capture for this long, isn't it?"

"Pfft!" A tall man sitting at the same table sputtered. "That guy ain't nothing. I'll show you when we find him."

Just then, a couple of young men approached their table.

One wore a leather chest plate with a mace strapped to his back.

The other didn't wear any armor at all but rather a plain cream cloak over ordinary civilian clothing. The wand at his hip told them he was a conjurer.

They both looked at the woman with fawning eyes, making their intentions all too obvious.

"Wow...uhm! Ahem!" The mace user cleared his throat before starting over. "Do you guys mind if we join your party?"

The older men looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in laughter. The woman shook her head in amusement, shooting them a smirk that said 'Not a chance'.

After composing themselves, the heavy-set man spoke up.

"Listen, kiddos. You really think we gunna let a couple scrubs in our party? Geh outta here! Shoo!" He stood up, emphasizing his large size to intimidate the boys, but stumbled in his drunken state, triggering another round of snickers from his party.

With no choice, the boys left, leaving the table to continue their conversation.

Each interaction with other rangers ended more or less the same way, with them walking away in a defeated posture. They'd been on the lookout all morning, desperately searching for anyone willing to let a couple of low-ranking rangers into their party.

Funnily enough, they've only been approaching teams that so happen to have women in them.

Unfortunately, the high-ranking rangers weren't willing to sacrifice their pay by letting these two tag along.

After a while, they sat in a lonely corner, observing the bustling lobby.

"This sucks."

"You're telling me. How are we supposed to gain popularity when we keep getting shot down?"

Just then, they spotted a young swordsman and a silver-haired girl examining the mission board. The boys glanced at each other, nodding before they made their approach.

Yakeru overheard the rowdy rangers at the bar section boast about slaying an A-tier monster in the outer rim as usual. Fuyumi was too busy browsing the board for a suitable mission. Another hunt mission, he reckoned.

He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall.

11:52

'Where is he?'

He stood up and walked over to Fuyumi after she signaled him to come over. She had a sheet in hand and, unsurprisingly, it involved hunting.

[Ogre Sighting]

D-rank

Western Wall, Inner rim

"Sure, but what about Kenji?"

She reluctantly glanced over at the other rangers drinking and chatting in the lobby. She wasn't keen on waiting but she also didn't want to scout for another party member.

"Excuse me?" The mace user interrupted. "Do you guys mind if..."

He trailed off as Fuyumi turned to acknowledge them. His breath caught in his throat and the boys' faces turned beet red. The world seemed to fade away, leaving only her in their sight.

Everything from her enchanting blue eyes to her silky smooth hair to her curvaceous figure had them both hypnotized.

Fuyumi lifted an eyebrow in confusion. The conjurer was the first to snap out of his trance. His companion was still unresponsive so he took this golden opportunity to chat her up.

He stepped forward with his best smile.

"Excuse him. He doesn't know how to act around beauties like you." He winked, taking advantage of his friend's daze.

He made sure to puff out his scrawny chest to accentuate his masculinity.

"Get lost." She said firmly, cringing at his advances.

The boys were crushed in an instant and the conjurer's once confident posture deflated.

Even Yakeru couldn't hold in his wince as he spectated the embarrassing sight. Now he understood what she had to deal with. The poor girl.

The mace user broke out of his stupor, desperately trying to salvage what he could.

"W-wait, wait! We were actually looking for a party to join. I-is it just the two of you?" He fumbled over his words as Fuyumi was now glaring holes through them.

"We were waiting for someone, but I don't think they're gonna make it," Yakeru answered.

She looked at Yakeru as if she couldn't believe what he was suggesting.

"No, we're not teaming up with these losers," Fuyumi said, her tone becoming more assertive.

The boys' self-esteem was crushed further into the ground after taking another critical blow.

"Come on. It won't be that bad. We don't have our third and they're looking for a party. Let's just help each other out and see how it goes." Yakeru tried to convince her.

"And we're both D-rank," the conjurer said proudly. "So we won't be in the way either. Promise!" He gave a thumbs up.

She narrowed her eyes at the two causing them to straighten up.

"S-so what do you say?" The mace user asked.

"Fine." She begrudgingly accepted. It was already clear Kenji wasn't coming.

The two grinned excitedly at one another, earning an eye roll from Fuyumi. She flashed them the mission sheet and briefly explained what they'd be doing.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Got it. Ready when you guys are." The wand user said, ready to follow their lead.

She'd already regretted her decision as she nudged past them, forcing them to follow her through the doors. Yakeru looked back through the doors into the guild, hoping he had just somehow missed Kenji. The distance between him and the others grew as he lingered for a moment before realizing he wasn't coming.

'Maybe he overslept? He shouldn't have any problems finding a team while we're gone, right?'

Meanwhile, Kenji elbowed his way through the sea of people navigating the capital streets. After getting tossed around, Kenji finally made it to the poster on the wall and carefully peeled it off. Inspecting it, the details stated:

[Have you seen this man?

Ken Sato

Occupation: Ranger

Age: 22

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 150lbs

Last Seen: Dragonyte Hills on March 17th at 7:34 pm.]

It was time to do the next thing on the agenda. He explored the crowded streets until he found a library. Silence filled the air as he entered. Visitors sat at long tables flipping through a variety of books while others were on their way out with books in hand.

Of course, low-ranking rangers couldn't participate in the hunt for the Ripper so it was safe to assume the guild wouldn't give him a copy of the public hunt mission sheet. The next best thing was to gather enough posters and use the missing persons' last known location to pinpoint the general area where the ripper preferred to strike.

He browsed the aisles, coming across a geological section.

After thumbing through pages from the books he grabbed, he found a map that mostly showed landscapes of the inner and mid-rim. Like any map, the outer rim still hadn't been updated so most of it was blank.

'Perfect.'

He set the book down on a table in the corner of the library, then pulled out the posters he'd gathered prior and studied the descriptions of where the missing people were last seen.

[Dragonyte Hills]

[Stone Cloud Valley]

[Azel's Abandoned Chapel]

[Starfrost Burrows]

Looking back and forth, tracing his finger along the map, it didn't take him long to recognize a pattern.

'Most of these are located in the mid-rim around the same general area.' He pinpointed.

He folded the corner of the page to not lose his place in the book before closing it. After meeting the librarian to borrow the book, he headed out.

All that was left was to buy a few more enhancement elixirs. Walking a few blocks, it didn't take long to find a shop selling elixirs. As usual, he purchased a few vials of the stuff and slipped them into a separate pocket in his satchel.

Leaving the shop, he made his way down the road and hailed a coachman. His father's words played in his head along with scenes of his failure at Hanataru.

'As long as I have power, I can survive in a harsh world.'

*****

Since the ogre was sighted just outside the walls, it didn't take long to hunt it.

During their journey, the two newcomers competed for Fuyumi's attention. They were determined to redeem themselves after she'd rejected them. So they did what any normal person would do—bombard her with the most egregious pick-up lines.

In the event she snapped, Yakeru watched from a safe distance as she grew increasingly irritated.

The monster's tracks led the group to a large tree stump that could rival the size of a small building with a stream cutting in between its massive roots.

The ogre was likely using the tree as its home until the four intruders raided it. The beast stood about eight feet tall with a bulky build.

The two D-ranks were the first to spring into battle, eager to impress the silver-haired beauty, but their showboating only got them swatted away like flies, Fuyumi facepalming.

Once again, she'd done the heavy lifting. Just as Yakeru expected, the monster wasn't even close to matching her fighting prowess. Her agility made her untouchable and her strikes were quick but lethal.

Before long, the beast was vanquished and it served as a humbling experience for the D-ranks as well.

"Woah..." the mace user muttered, staring at Fuyumi in admiration. "She's amazing!"

"Told you," Yakeru said.

Up until this point, whether she realized it or not, Fuyumi had been doing most, if not all, of the work. Nonetheless, it seemed the D-ranks were far from ungrateful. They probably even felt invincible with her by their side, but only Yakeru knew her limitations. And of course Kenji.

'I wonder if he ever made it to the guild?'

"Come on, or we're leaving you behind," Fuyumi warned, noticing how spaced out Yakeru was.

He looked over to see the group already heading back and jogged over.

Upon arriving back at the guild, they gave their report—or at least that's what it was supposed to be.

The D-ranks made it out to be this exhilarating story rather than a concise report. That was the first time they'd seen someone take down a monster with little to no effort so of course they'd gush over Fuyumi.

Though, the receptionist didn't seem to mind. She'd been accustomed to receiving formal reports from rangers for who knows how long so this must've been refreshing for her.

"Wow! That must've been quite exciting to see!"

"You bet it was! That ogre didn't stand a chance! She was all like 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩 and 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨!" The mace user exclaimed with enthusiastic gestures.

Their silly sound effects earned a slight giggle from the receptionist and an eye roll from Fuyumi.

It was then that she noticed Fuyumi impatiently tapping her finger on the desk. Picking up on this, she raised her hand, signaling to the young men that there was no need to continue. A line had formed behind them with others presumably waiting to give their reports too so it was time to wrap things up.

"As entertaining as you boys are, I'm afraid others are waiting."

She reached under the counter and plopped down a sack filled with coins.

"Thank you for completing your mission and have a wonderful rest of your day!"

The D-ranks snagged their compensation. Their eyes lit up as they peeked inside the sack.

"Maybe I can finally replace this armor."

"Yeah, you look ridiculous with that on."

The mace user glanced at Fuyumi, blushing. She glared in response, knowing exactly what his next words would be.

"So, how about we do this again somet-?"

"Absolutely not. Both of you are insufferable." She interrupted, her voice laced with venom.

The two doubled over as she landed another devastating blow to their self-esteem.

"Then...I suppose we'll take our leave," the wand user responded with defeated posture.

Satisfied with what they'd earned, the two waved to Yakeru and Fuyumi before making their way to the doors, Yakeru being the only one who gave a small wave back.

His expression turned to one of disappointment after they'd left. He did a double take of the lobby but didn't see any sign of the conjurer anywhere.

"Quick question."

The receptionist perked up.

"You haven't happened to see Kenji stop by, have you?"

"No, I haven't seen him all day. Is there something wrong?"

He recalled the aftermath of their battle with the fungus blights.

"No...thanks anyway."

He took his compensation and followed Fuyumi out the door.

He couldn't help but worry about his friend. During the time they spent together, Kenji felt like he couldn't contribute as much as his peers. He felt terrible about what happened on that bridge and struggled in their first dungeon raid. He must've gotten a rush after killing fungus blights. And then it hit him.

'He said he wanted to try something after buying those enhancement elixirs.'

Did that mean he wanted to see if he could fight stronger monsters? The first fungus blight he killed had to have been at least C-tier. If he wanted to fight a stronger monster, he'd have to go to the mid-rim.

'Did he bite off more than he can chew?!'

Yakeru's eyes widened as he came to a horrific realization. The guild receptionist mentioned that rangers were being hunted in the mid and outer rims.

'Don't tell me...!'

If he did go to the mid-rim, there was a chance he'd have a run-in with the Ripper.

"Come on," Fuyumi said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Let's go find him."

"You want to help look for him?"

"It'd be problematic for me if something were to happen to him. I don't want to have to replace him with someone else."

He didn't expect her to indirectly admit that someone was irreplaceable but he got the sense that it was simply because he's easier to have around. The two D-ranks were proof of that.

If regulations were different, she would've gladly tackled every mission solo.

Yakeru gave her a determined nod.

"Right."

*****

Kenji had already ventured into the mid-rim. The gravity dysons he fought prior were native to the mid-rim but were nowhere near where he was currently headed. Perhaps this was the reason why he hadn't encountered the Ripper.

Looking up, he could see stars beginning to dot the evening sky. Crickets chirped and the cool air brushed against the thin trees that made up the forest. Jellyfish-like creatures drifted through the air in every direction, their bioluminescence illuminating the area with a red glow.

He'd never seen fire husks before so he took a moment to watch in awe. They remained nonreactive to his presence as he marched through them. He wasn't too bothered either.

As he continued passing through the forest, he spotted something familiar. Lodged in a nearby tree was a gleaming object. Taking a step closer, he let out an amused sigh as he identified it to be a quill.

This changed nothing.

Before, the mere sight of it would be enough to make him anxious. But now that he knew he could take on stronger beasts, finding himself in a steel-quilled bear's territory wasn't a cause for concern.

After all, he had everything he needed.

'I have all the power I need...at least for now.'

Power was the only thing that occupied his thoughts. His thirst for overwhelming strength and desire to dominate only intensified. By hunting the most wanted man, he'd finally command the respect he longed for.

He kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

It was then he noticed a small anomaly. A fire husk's glow was blinking and seemed to be floating away in the distance. He glanced over and spotted another husk sporadically blinking its red light.

Slowly but surely the once unbothered fire husks dispersed, plunging the area into almost complete darkness. He watched as the flickering warm colors faded into the distance.

They were unbothered by his presence mere moments ago, so he couldn't understand why they were so frightened.

That's when he heard it—a soft yet haunting lullaby that sent a shiver down his spine, piercing through the eerie silence. It possessed a melodic but fragmented nature, adding to the forest's already foreboding atmosphere.

"Is that...a whistle?"