I crouch on the lowest branch from one of the signature giant trees of The Indrian Forest. Why did I get stuck babysitting a kid again? Oh, right. It’s because his parents are rich, and offering a Word to protect him. I think sarcastically, while keeping a close eye on our surroundings. Below me, the young ogre, Clive, is skinning the Ursine Minor that he had just slain. He looks so proud, too. As if a C rank killing a D rank is impressive. I snort a little out loud. The kid hears me, and looks up from his carving. “Did you see something?”

“No, I don’t sense any monsters nearby.” The guild master told me to be nice, and since he can just fire me if I disobey, I have to comply. It’s always irritating when these kinds of missions come up, but they pay well enough that they’re worth the effort. I shake my head a little. Even if it’s highly unlikely, something stronger may be in this area. I have to keep alert, otherwise, someone may die. And that would be bad. I begin a more careful scan of the surrounding area.

“I’m done!” Clive calls up. I look down, and see the bloody meat and bones of the Ursine Minor laying on the ground, and the bulging backpack slung around his shoulders. “I think we’ve gathered and fought enough today. Let’s go back?”

“Sure.” I respond, trying to keep any sarcasm from bleeding into my voice. “Do you want me to lead, or do you want to?” He responds cheerfully. “You can do it.” I sigh a little, before jumping off of the branch. I land lithely on the ground, before quickly standing up. I start to walk towards the capital of Zucia. We shouldn’t be more than a dozen miles away. This should only take an hour or two. I take a quick glance at the sky, and see the sun hanging at its highest point. It’s around noon. At this rate, we might even be able to make it back in time for a late lunch. Clive falls in step beside me. “So, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing well.” I say neutrally. “That’s good, that’s good.” He stays silent for a few more minutes, before asking another, much less generic, question. “So, what happened earlier? I heard you shoot something, so I immediately came rushing. But all I saw when I arrived was an empty clearing, and one of those strange bolts of yours buried in the ground.”

“I saw a weak monster, an E rank, lounging about while scouting. It was blocking our path, but it wasn’t strong enough to warrant a proper battle. So, I shot at it, aiming to kill. However, by some miracle, it dodged the arrow. It was spooked by the sudden attack, and ran away. Then you came charging in, the Ursine Minor attacked, and as they say, the rest is history.”

“Oh, that’s strange. Don’t E rank monsters stay away from here? I know it’s a pretty popular spot to hunt in nowadays.” Clive asks. “Yeah, E rank monsters tend to stay away from the route we’re taking. I found it a bit strange, but it isn’t a particularly uncommon occurrence. It happens from time to time when a younger monster doesn’t know better than to rest in this area. How would they know to stay away, if they didn’t know that this area was dangerous?”

“I guess they wouldn’t.” Clive responds. He goes silent once again, and I allow myself to enjoy the following silence. I, of course, still keep an eye out for anything dangerous. But now that we’re moving away from the central parts of the dungeon, there will be less danger. After all, we’re now moving away from the core, instead of towards it.

…

This is taking forever! I tap my foot on the ground, as Clive and I stand in the line to enter the capital. I didn’t anticipate the line being this long. Most people don’t return or arrive until some time around sundown, and right now it’s only halfway through the afternoon. So why is it so packed?! There shouldn’t be any celebrations today, and it’s not like there’s any exclusive event going on. I continue to tap my foot on the ground as I think. It can’t be heard over the sounds of people chatting. The line is barely moving forward! We’ve been standing here for what feels like an eternity, and we’ve not moved more than a couple dozen yards forward!

I sigh a little, then think about the advantages. At least I’m almost done with this job. Altogether, Clive wasn’t too bad. I’ve certainly worked with worse people. I start to think about some of my past experiences. He certainly wasn’t worse than my first party… No bad thoughts, Chloe, no bad thoughts! I quickly change the topic of my thoughts to something else, to avoid thinking about those dark times. Anyways, I’m almost done with this. I just have to bring Clive back to the guild, and then I can get my money and the Word. I continue to think about other things, like how I could’ve improved my performance during the hunt, to distract myself from the seemingly endless wait.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

…

I notice the area around Clive and I start to get noticeably darker. What’s happening? I look up, and realize that the sun is starting to dip beneath the massive walls in front of us. Wait, massive walls? I look up, and see massive 20 meter tall walls towering above us, and the rest of the line around us. Finally, we’re almost at the end! I bend around the backs of some people, and look to see how many groups are in front of us. Only five! It’ll only be a few more minutes till we can finally enter the city! Then I can complete this stupid job. And I’ll finally get one more word! I wonder what it’ll be this time? I already have [Status] and [Identify], the common ones, so it’ll have to be something rarer. Maybe [Inspect]? That would be pretty useful. I shake my head. Stop getting distracted! I still have to bring Clive back to the guild. Oh, and I have to show the gate guards my guild card. Right. I fish around in my pockets, and pull out the gleaming silver card. On its face is a picture of me, my name, and my guild rank. I hold the card in my hand and wait patiently.

The line moves forward a few feet. Wait, was that actually one group instead of two up front? That means there are only three more parties in front of us. Or maybe more accurately, two more parties and one person. At the very front one person is entering the city. Wow, that was fast. They must be part of the Adventurer’s Guild. Well, I guess that there’s only two more parties in front of us now. I turn back to Clive. “Clive, get out your guild card.” He lifts up his hand, where the bronze card is held. “Already done.” That’s good. This’ll go even faster. I turn to look at the people in front of me again. The party in front of us is paying the toll to get in. They’re all wearing large backpacks, and all of them are holding some kind of small weapon. Are they moving here? To the capital of Zucia? Actually, I guess that makes sense. While it is a bit more dangerous because of how close it is to The Indrian Forest, it’s also the most luxurious place in this kingdom. But it takes a lot of money to live here. And people with that kind of money tend to take carriages. Oh well, there’s no use in thinking about it. Anyway, it’s our turn. I step up to the gate guards. “We’re adventurers returning from a hunt.” Clive and I both show our guild cards. “You two can go on in.” We walk by them, and put our cards back into our pockets.

We step into the city, and immediately make for the Adventurer’s Guild. I barely pay attention to the shops that I pass on the way. None of this low quality stuff will help me in any way, and it probably won’t help Clive either. It doesn’t take very long for us to find the guildhall. The building is three stories tall, just one more than the average building in this area. The outside is decorated with golden carvings, and the paths are paved with stone. I walk up to the large entrance, and push open the massive doors. I’m hit with a wall of noise. Luckily, since I was expecting this, I had already braced myself. I barely even flinch, and neither does Clive. I hold one of the doors open for him, while letting the other fall back into its resting position. He enters the main hall, and then I let the door fall shut. I lead us to the most empty receptionist. There’s only one other person talking to him. I pull out the paper asking for someone to help Clive gain five levels, and wait behind the person currently chatting with the receptionist. The young man chatting with the guild receptionist notices us, and quickly leaves. “How may I help you today?” The receptionist asks, a professional smile on his face. “I completed this request, and I’m here for my reward.” I slide the paper across the table, and the receptionist picks it up. He takes a glance over at Clive, and his eyes glow a light blue for a second. “I see you’ve successfully completed the request.” He ducks under the desk and pulls out a small leather bag of coins. “Here you go. I’ll also take you to the back when you’re ready for the second part of the reward.” I take the bag he hands to me, and open it. Inside are 49 silver, and 8 copper. I put the small leather pouch into my backpack. I turn around to Clive. “Bye Clive. I wish you many successful hunts.”

“The same for you.” He responds, putting his hand out for a handshake. I give it one firm shake, before letting go and turning around. “I’m ready for the second part of my reward.”

“Okay, follow me.” He disappears from sight for a second, before reappearing around the corner of the booth. I follow him as he leads me to one of the back rooms. He opens the door to one of the rooms where words of power are spoken. Inside is a fancily dressed man who looks like a butler. I enter the room, and the receptionist closes the door, and stands outside the room. “What word do I get?” I ask the fancily dressed butler. “I’ll give you a word that allows you to learn the details of items, like how [Identify] allows one to learn about a living creature. [Inspect].” I immediately flinch, and lean against the wall. My head feels like it’s throbbing, and wants to explode. Luckily, I was prepared since this had happened twice already, first with [Status], and then with [Identify]. The feeling quickly fades, and it feels like I’ve gained a whole new muscle. Yet, even though it is new, I feel like I have enough familiarity with it to have had it my entire life. “[Inspect]” I say out loud. I focus my attention on the chair the butler is sitting on. Information flows into my mind, as if I’m calling upon a particularly clear memory.

Item: Wooden Chair

Condition: Pristine

“Thank you for the word.” I turn to leave the room. “And thank you for completing the quest.” I’m exhausted after the day’s exertions, and acclimating to the new word, so I immediately leave the room, and the guild soon after. I go straight to my inn, which is only a couple buildings down from the guild. I walk the path I’ve walked dozens of times before, and am at my inn, The Three Crows. I enter the building, and make my way to the manager. “Hi Clara.”

“Oh, Cloe, how are you doing?” She asks, smiling at me. “I’m doing well. Anyways, I’ve had a really exhausting day, so I’m going to go right to sleep.” I say, rubbing my eyes a bit. “Okay! Just make sure to eat a big breakfast tomorrow!” She says, still smiling. “I will.” I smile back tiredly, before immediately going to my room. I fish out the key from my left pocket, before unlocking the door. I drop my pack to the floor, close and lock the door, and fall onto the bed. I’m asleep before my head even hits the pillow.