"Heey, Helen, look at this huge haul we brought today!! Two silver for each one of us!! Yay!!!"

Marcy is psyched up today. After several days with low earnings, we found a salamander nest in the hills with a rare fire salamander among them, and were able to hunt all of them.

With this much money, we can make it through the winter that is arriving soon.

"Wow nice! Did the materials sell for that much? The winter really increases the demand for fire-aligned materials!"

"I'm having a salamander skin dress made for me!!" She is dancing in the middle of the Guild mess hall. The guys are singing and clapping. Marcy is popular. It is troublesome in more than one way.

"Yes, Marcy, it is good, but you are not buying anyone any drinks." I give a cold stare at the guys around us, but nobody cares. It is hard to work as a two-girl adventuring party.

I had to shoot down dozens of invitations since we arrived in this town at the beginning of autumn. Most of these lecherous guys just wanted to get beneath our skirts anyway.

"Oh, too bad I was going to get them to buy me drinks this time around..."

"HO! I'll buy drink for miss Marcy! Get her some mead!" And there comes trouble. This guy, the 'Spear Lord' Cedric is hitting on Marcy on a daily basis. And little by little Marcy's defenses are crumbling. I wouldn't mind if she gets in a serious relationship, but Cedric is a lady killer. It seems he has over 10 children in this town alone. A guy like this is trouble. I hold down Marcy's arm.

"You are not drinking today. We need to resupply. Winter is coming." I grab Marcy by the collar, and drag her out of the guild. Emory laughs from inside my robe pocket.

"Helen you meanie! Fine, let's go shopping." Beneath this hyper demeanor of Marcy's there is a deep rooted concern. She left her mom and friends back in Mirfield. While besieged by a orc horde.

Before leaving the Guild I fix the bandana I use all the time to hide my hair, then pat Emory and his kids inside the robe. Marcy is going ahead without me.  I go after Marcy in a hurry. I need to keep her from spending all our coin in some fancy accessories. At least we are able to live with my parents. We don't have to pay inn fees. We need to save money for winter, and also for going back to Mirfield. I want to find Grendel.

Two days later, we are having supper at the guild mess hall. We went out to hunt goblins today, and were able to find only a few goblins at their village. That was very strange, because the amount of huts gave the impression of a big goblin community. Well, the biggest pay of the assignment was to torch the village. I won't care right now about the fate of goblins.

The doorbell jingles. It is this branch newbie detector. The guys here have a hazing custom, to harass newbies. Unless you know the trick when opening the door, the attached bell will jingle and you will be harassed if you are an adventurer-looking kid. Sometimes a veteran makes the mistake of jingling, and he gets harassed anyway. I'm not interested, but I will look anyway. And there it is. Fresh meat. A small boy, around five feet eight inches tall with messy brown hair. Skinny with not a single scratch or scar is in his face or hands. Wearing linen clothes beneath a leather armor that has seen better days. And carrying an 11 feet long spear. Good hazing for you, new boy. The crowd is already singing the newbie song in full.

I was about to dismiss the about to be butchered boy, when I noticed.

That spear's tip... It is a curled horn.

A huge knot locks my throat.

My heart races.

I know that horn.

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I have touched that horn before.

That is Grendel's horn.

"Helen, what is wrong?" Marcy grabs my shaking arm. I can't even speak. I'm frozen in dread.

I can only watch the scene unfold in front of me.

Cedric stands up and walks to the newcomer. "Hey what a nice spear you got there, let this Cedric take a look! [Appraisal (spear)]!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!" And raises a loud curse.

The boy is just standing silent at the entrance. No reaction.

Cedric walks to the newbie. "What is the deal with that spear? Materials: B-rank troll horn, B-rank orc prince leather, 100 year ironbark sequoia shaft, and Death Willow Amber coating? Oi that is too good for a newbie!!" Everyone laughs. He said 'troll horn'.

Marcy froze when she heard 'Death Willow'. If I remember correctly that was the poison she was afflicted with when she returned to town. I healed that poison with one of my rats.

"Give me this!" Cedric grabs the spear. The newbie lets go. "Let me check this thing up close. Hey, this is very nice! It is a monster spear! Those things that can evolve as they kill stuff. Crude as hell, let me tell you. This thing was crafted by a monster. Hey kid where did you steal this thing?" Cedric pushes the newbie, he just takes a step back.

The newbie then speaks: "I know this spear is very good. I've killed a ton of monsters and people with it." What a sharp voice! Almost a girl.

Did he look at me? No way.

I pull down my robe's hood and sink back a little in the chair.

"Oh hoho ho ho.... Guys we have here a monster slayer!!!" Laughter echoes. "And you killed a ton of people with this spear? Booya! scary!!" Cedric is always poking people to see their reactions. He is actually measuring that boy.

"Can I get my spear back? I don't want you damaging it." The boy is unfazed. 

"Oi, brat, I am 'Spear Lord' Cedric. I am the lover of all spears, and all spears love me."

"I can see where you love all your spears." The kid is looking down at Cedric.This a ticket to a fight.

Did he just glance at me AGAIN ??

"Do you have a death wish kid?" Cedric is going to murder that boy!! Stop racing, heart of mine!

"Tsk. Such a template. You want to fight, right?"

A receptionist comes to defuse the situation. "Cedric. You know you can't fight a civilian! Stop this right now and return the boy's spear."

"I will buy it off of you for..." Cedric is cut off by the kid.

"I am an adventurer. Here is my card. I am rank 'i' adventurer!!!"

Everyone bursts into laughter. Any newly registered adventurer is rank H. It is common knowledge. There are no ranks below H.

The receptionist frowns. "Rank 'i' you said? Kid, where did you register?" Her tone of voice flipped. She is seriously angry now.

"Oh. I understood everything now. Hey, my buddy Cedric, what rank newbie adventurers register at?"

Cedric is so surprised at the sudden friendly tone that he answers honestly: "All new kids register at rank H".

The kid addresses the receptionist, and takes his card out of his trousers. "Can you please confirm the authenticity of my card?"

"With pleasure." She says in a cold, mechanical voice before picking up the card offered by the kid and going around the counter.

She takes some time there, but returns. "Your card is in order. You are indeed a rank 'i' adventurer, Mr. Beowulf." Why she had to almost shout that last line?

The kid snatches back his card. "Thank you. Say, miss, rank 'i' is a bad thing, right? And you can't say out loud here why it is a bad thing, right?" He is making a creepy smile.

"I do not have the authority to answer that." She dismiss. But everyone understood what her dismissal meant. The boy was correct.

"Then it is fine." The kid says in a happy voice. " I won't pry any further in the Guild receptionists' hidden system." Then he turns to Cedric. "Hey, do you still want to fight, or can you just give me my spear back. Just to be sure, this won't be a fight to the death, is it?"

The receptionist is flustered by the last statement of the kid. "Cedric... I forbid you from... fighting this kid. Return his spear at once." She is afraid. Her voice is cutting. I can see the moisture on her forehead.

Cedric is befuddled by the scene. I don't think nobody here other than the receptionist and the kid understood what really transpired. But 'receptionist hidden system?' What did this kid do to earn the guild receptionist's vengeance? I look at Marcy. She is staring at the boy with narrowed eyes. I touch her arm, but she motions for me to be quiet.

After some thinking, he gave the spear back. "What a turn down. I really wanted to beat down some fresh meat."

The kid takes the spear back. I can't stop looking at that horn and dreading what might have happened.

"Cedric my buddy! This is good! You know, where I come from, the ruffian that picks a fight with the newbie at the Adventurer's Guild always ends up beaten up or dead." Cedric is doing a 'I don't believe' face. "Oh, c'mon. You like spears, I like spears, we are spear brothers. Here, Let me buy you a drink. Hey barkeep, give my man Cedric here two shots of his favorite drink, on me." The newbie skillfully defuses the situation, before Cedric can even react.

He glanced at me again!!!!

Who is that guy?

Why I feel this emptiness inside of me?

How did he come across that horn?