I slowly approached the girl, that was now standing near the door. She was staring at me for the whole time, but I didn’t mind it. When I was near her, I looked at her for a moment. She had long, black hair, and a beautiful face. Her clothes looked even more expensive from the close range, because I could clearly see the good material from which they were made.

“You are not from here, are you?” I asked, and smiled towards her, but her expression didn’t change.

As if she didn’t care about my words, she just looked at me, while still holding her golden badge tightly.

“You don’t want to speak with me?”

“What do you want?” she finally answered with a cold voice.

“I was just curious about you. We don’t see people from outside the city often in this place.” I replied, and looked at her hand, in which she was holding her badge “And you aren’t a normal visitor, are you?”

“What do you want?” the girl asked once again.

“There is no reason to be so cautious. I was just curious, that’s all.”

As I said those word, I noticed that she felt uneasy. She was looking around, while trying not to attract too much attention. The people inside the guild already knew that she was there, and many of them would look at her. They did it not only because she was powerful, but also because she was beautiful.

And yet, this person was scared for some reason.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, and she looked at me with a weird look in her eyes. It was a mixture of anger, and irritation.

“Why would you ask?”

“I told you already, that there is no reason to be so cautious.” I replied to her words, and smiled. After that I showed her my silver badge “You see it? I’m an adventurer, just like you. One of the more powerful ones in the city, and now you arrive here. Of course I would be curious.”

The girl just looked at it, and after that at me. Her gaze was strong, and she was staring at me for quite some time. Finally, after a moment, she took a small step towards me.

“My name is Calene, and I’m an adventurer from the capital city. It’s rare to see someone as young as you, with a silver badge.” the girl said, and smiled a little “Well, I shouldn’t be the one to say things like this, should I?”

“Well, certainly you don’t seem to be older than me, and yet you have golden badge. You must have worked hard for it.” I said, and she looked at the floor.

“Yeah…” Calene then replied shortly, without looking at my face.

Something about her was off. The way she talked, and moved. Even if she was looking at me, her eyes would seem distant, as if she was thinking about other things.

“Why are you in this city? I can imagine, that living in the capital is better for someone like you. Quests for adventurers aren’t really good in this place, and they don’t pay well. Are on a mission, or just traveling?”

“Oh, I…” she stopped herself for a moment, as if she was thinking if she could answer my question “I’m just traveling.” she then said, while avoiding my eyes.

She was lying, and it was easy to see. A golden badge is something very powerful. Not many people can wear it, and it’s rarity even among the older adventurers. If you have something like this, it must mean that you are a part of one of the seven houses.

“I don’t want to be a bother, but could we sit in here, and talk for a moment? I always wanted to talk with someone that is as strong as you, and now I finally have a chance.”

My words made her feel uneasy, and she once again looked at the floor. She then played with her hands, as if she didn’t know what to do.

“So? Can we talk? It really is a great pleasure for me, to meet someone like you.”

“O-Okay…” she responded to my words, with a weak voice.

After that she went to the table at the corner of the guild, and I asked Annie for two bowls of the soup she had on the stove. “Weren’t you going to kill a troll?” she just joked a little, but after that gave me the food, and I went with it to the Calene. As I handed her her portion, I noticed that some of the people were still staring at us.

I could understand them. The golden badge must have made a big impression on them. I was one of them most powerful adventurers in here, but now that she was in here, I could as well be the weakest.

“I’m sorry for the them. I know that it might be uncomfortable, but it’s rare to see someone of your abilities in this city. Not that I’m any better…” I said, and smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about it.” Calene responded, and grabbed a wooden spoon, that was placed near the bowl. She then took a sip of her soup, and a warm expression appeared on her face.

The food must have been good, so I did the same. The soup was ineed delicious; made from vegetables, and some kind of meat. It was very filling, and with the bread, it tasted great. I took a few bites from my portion, and after that I looked at the girl, that was sitting beside me.

“You know… I was always curious about the strength of people like you. I met many bronze, and silver adventurers, so I know how powerful they are, but I never met a golden one.”

“Oh, it’s nothing really. “

“Nothing?” I asked, and laughed a little “Is this a joke, or something? I’m sure that you are just being modest, but you must be really strong. For someone in your age to have clothes like this.” I said, and looked at her.

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Her light armor was perfect. Made probably from a minotaur skin, it was thick, but also light, and very durable. I didn’t see it before, but now I noticed a small dagger hanging from her waist. It was made from silver, with a handmade handle full of ornaments.

Comparing her clothes to mine, would be like comparing a queen to a peasant.

“Would you mind taking a look at my character card? I want to have an opinion of someone like you. I don’t know if I’m leveling up right skills.”

As I said those words, the girl took a glance at me from her bowl, and after that nodded slightly. When she did, I joined my hands together, and a small amount of mana started leaking from my fingertips. A few seconds passed, and the blue string of energy danced before me, creating a window.

Name: David Wright

HP 1980/1980

MP 970/970

Strength

220

LVL

20

Intelligence

180

Race

Human

Dexterity

420

Class

Adventurer

Luck

98

Age

19

Charisma

150

Gender

Male

Skills

Advanced Swordsman : You are good with a sword. It's easy for you to block enemy attacks with it, and you don't get too tired while fighting. You can use your sword with only one hand, without the penalty to damage BONUS : You have a slight chance to deal 150% damage while attacking enemies without heavy armor.

Beginner in Magic : You have a slight understanding of magic, that allows you to cast simple spells. Your pool of mana is small, and most of the spells you can use take longer to cast

Advanced Bows Mastery : You can use heavy bows without the penalty to speed. Your accuracy is high, and you don't get the penalties for the terrain, and distance if your enemy isn't further than half a kilometer from you BONUS : You can shot two arrows at once, dealing 2X damage, but having 50% accuracy

Calene was reading the table that I created, while thinking. She seemed to be very focused, as she looked at the skills, and the stats that were written before her. When she was done with reading, she leaned on her chair, and looked at the ceiling.

“I don’t really know…” she said after a moment, and then looked at me “It doesn’t seem to me, as if you are doing anything wrong. You have still a lot of room to grow, and your skills are pretty normal. It’s not like I can give you any advice.” she then added, and sighed.

“You think so?” I asked, and took another sip of the soup “Well, someone like you probably doesn’t understand someone weak like me.”

When I said this, she looked at me with angry expression. It seemed that I touched a sensitive topic.

“Well, you can think whatever you want.” the girl then replied to my words, and went for a bowl with bread, that was on the middle of the table. She wanted to take a slice, but she couldn’t because the bowl was empty.

“It seems that I took the last slice of bread.” I said as I looked at her, and then laughed a little.

Her displeased face made me realise, that I shouldn’t joke about things like this.

“Annie! Can we have some more bread?” I asked the girl standing behind the counter, and she nodded at me.

It took her maybe a minute, but after that she approached us with a few slices of fresh, rye bread. It tasted sour, and was a little hard, but that made eating it even more enjoyable. I took the bowl from her hands, and brought it closer to the Calene, which made a little smile appear on her face.

She took one of the biggest slices from the bowl, and after that she dipped it into the soup. When it soaked, she bit it, and I smiled at her.

“Are you sure that you should be going on a date in here right now?” Annie said, as she looked at both of us “You were going to fight alone with a troll today, didn’t you?” she then added, while walking towards the counter.

After she said that, Calene looked at me with a worried expression. Some of the soup she was eating, was now dripping from the corners of her mouth. When she noticed it, she quickly wiped it with her sleeve.

“You were going to fight a troll? With skills like this?” she then asked.

“Yeah. They might be powerful, but for a silver adventurer like me, if I’m careful enough, I can kill them without any pro-”

“Are you stupid?” she interrupted me, and took another slice of bread from the bowl “You can’t just risk your life like that. You should always travel in groups, because you never know what will happen.” Calene then added, and dipped the bread into the soup.

She was a good person. Even if I seemed like someone that was just bothering her, she still gave me a good advice. People like that just can’t help themselves, when they see someone in need.

“You know what…” I said quietly, and she looked at me “You are probably right, I shouldn’t fight a troll alone, but I also want to see you in action.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can we go together?”

As I asked this question, she gazed at me from her bowl. I couldn’t read her expression, because she didn’t even flinch after my question. She just took another sip of the soup, and after that she looked at me.

“If you want to travel together, you need someone you can trust. Someone you can trust with your life, do you understand?”

“You mean that you don’t trust me?” I asked, and she got up from the table.

“Of course I don’t trust you, but this doesn’t matter. A fight with troll means nothing to me, and he poses me no threat.” Calene then said, and I stood up too.

“So what do you mean?”

“Why would you want to travel with me? Are you sure that you can trust me? Are you sure that you can put your life on the line, while traveling with someone you barely know?” she said, and started slowly walking away.

She must have been used to it. Used to people wanting to team up with her. Yeah, for her I was just another weak adventurer, that wanted to travel with someone more powerful. But that wasn’t the case.

The truth was slightly different.

“Of course I can.” I responded to her words with a smile, and she looked at me surprised.