Fiona walked in a daze, shifting most of her weight onto a staff as she trudged through Valier Forest. With every step she took, a sharp pain would shoot through her feet. Not only were her legs aching, but it was extremely hot too! Someone or something must have pissed off the sun to the point where it wanted to scorch everything in its wake. She was sorely regretting accepting the contract from Aunt Selena.

Fatigue finally took over, and Fiona leaned against a tree. “Yep, we’re taking a break. I don’t want to hear any refusals from you guys.”

One party member she was traveling with stopped and craned his head at her. A young man dressed head-to-toe in plated armor sighed and marched over. “Fiona. I thought we settled on scheduled breaks. We still have more ground to cover.”

Fiona scowled. “Well, Grant, my feet are killing me! Just give me a minute, will ya?”

Grant knew there was no use in trying to persuade her, so he shrugged and turned. "Reo, do you feel fatigued?”

Reo, a short and lean figure, was crouched down, absorbed in stroking the dirt with a bare hand. It was only when Grant called out his name once more that he gradually turned, his disheveled, brown hair swaying.

"Hm? Why are you shouting my name? You'll attract the attention of the beasts."

“Never mind that," Grant said. "You go on ahead and use that nose of yours to track down the two-tusked boar. I’ll watch over Fiona until she is ready to continue.”

Reo stared at her with an arched eyebrow, as if to say–really? Fiona just smiled and waved him off. The short man stood up and jogged away, grunting and mumbling the whole time. She watched him until he was only a distant blob in the forest. Fiona turned her attention to Grant.

“I can watch over myself. What if Reo finds the boar later and needs your help?”

Grant shook his head. “It is my responsibility to protect the party leader of Blue Dawn. As the shield of this group, I cannot leave you all alone.”

“And yet you left Reo on his own?”

“His nose for danger is impressive, and he is clever. I am confident that he will quickly escape the situation if he encounters any trouble.

Fiona chuckled at his assurance and dropped the issue. She turned to the copper badge hung around her neck and fiddled with it.

The sooner they gained the reward for hunting down the two-tusked boar, the better. Climbing the ranks quickly is essential for Blue Dawn to access more challenging contracts and greater benefits. Because she accepted a low-ranked contract, she wouldn't receive much sil as a reward. Nonetheless, it was a step in the right direction.

Regaining some of her energy, Fiona stood up with the help of her staff. She pushed aside a strand of her hair. “This is our first contract together as Blue Dawn, Grant. We must climb the ranks so that we can prove those cackling hyenas back at the academy wrong!”

Grant narrowed his eyes. “Oh Sthito… Don’t tell me you're still hung up about–”

Suddenly, Fiona and Grant heard rustling above them. The pair snapped their heads, armed and ready. Fiona held her staff high, ready to unleash havoc upon the unfortunate soul while Grant brought out his armaments: a sword and a shield. When Fiona was getting fed up with waiting and was about to chant, a figure descended from the tree, landing right between the two.

“We have a problem,” Reo said, brushing off leaves.

Fiona rolled her eyes and lowered the staff. “What made you think sneaking up on us was a good idea? You’re lucky Grant’s perceptive or else you’d be kissing the ground!”

“Reo, what do you mean by problem?” Grant asked.

“You’ll see when we get there. Follow me.”

Reo broke into a jog, following the same path he had taken before. Fiona and Grant glanced at each other momentarily and followed along. After traveling a good distance away from their resting spot, they caught up to Reo, who stopped. Grant joined his side while Fiona staggered forward, wheezing. When she looked past their shoulders, she clamped a hand over her mouth and gasped.

A large corpse sat in the middle of a clearing. Feasting on its belly was a pack of lesser hounds all tumbling over each other as they ripped and shredded through white meat. A pool of dried blood and entrails had stained the grassy field. Spectators–birds and other animals–stayed back and watched as they waited for their turn to come up. When Fiona inspected the corpse further, saw the curved tusks at the forefront.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Grant stepped forward and ushered Fiona and Reo behind him. “That must be the two-tusked boar from the contract. It appears that it has already been slain."

“Did the lesser hounds do this?” Fiona whispered.

“It doesn’t matter what killed it," Reo said. "We just need to show proof it’s been killed, and we’ll complete the contract. Fiona, your orders?”

“O-Oh, right!” She cleared her throat and raised the staff high. “You two just hold your ground. Kill anything that attacks us. I’ll disperse the beasts away from the corpse.”

They both nodded at her command and got into a defensive stance. Grant held his shield near torso level while Reo had two daggers equipped. Fiona summoned the mana from her heart and visualized the spell she wanted to create. A tingling sensation coursed through her body. In a clear voice, she uttered the words: Fireball!

A fiery sphere formed as mana gathered above her staff at a single point. The spell was thrown into the pack's midst. One of the beasts sensed the danger approaching, but was too late to flee. The sky emitted a low roar, and the group exploded into a pit of flames.

As the intense flames engulfed the unfortunate wolves caught in the heart of the spell, their pained cries filled the air. Desperate to quell the merciless blaze, they rolled and writhed upon the ground, their bodies a futile attempt at extinguishing the consuming fire. However, their efforts proved in vain, and their lives were snuffed out in a matter of seconds, their agonized squeals silenced forever.

The remaining wolves, fortunate enough to be outside the spell’s devastating range, sustained only minimal injuries. Fear surged through their bodies, their tails tucked between their legs as they swiftly retreated from the scene of their torment. Instead of instinctively charging toward the source of their troubles, survival instincts took precedence, compelling them to flee the area with haste. In the battle's aftermath, as the triumphant flames subsided and the cries of the defeated wolves faded into the distance, Fiona took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling in an attempt to steady her racing heart.

“That was easy,” she mumbled. “We should be safe for now. Grant, go ahead and cut the tusks. They’ll serve as proof. Reo, check the beast for any mana cores. If we’re lucky, we could sell it on the market.”

“I’ll get to it.”

“As you say, oh glorious leader.”

The three cautiously approached the two-tusked boar, roving their eyes for any sneak attacks. Once there, Grant and Reo began their missions as Fiona kept watch, pinching her nose from the abysmal smell. Her mind wandered to her Fireball spell.

Not only had it proven highly successful in eliminating a few of the hostile creatures, but it's devastating impact had sent the remaining beasts fleeing for their lives. The immediate danger had been averted, at least for now. They’d have to work quickly, or else something worse than lesser hounds appeared. Aunt Selena mentioned goblins and trolls were frequently seen in Valier Forest. She was not in the mood to fight such creatures.

On second thought, how much sil did each ear of a goblin go for again? If it pays well, then I don’t mind meeting them…

Lost in her thoughts, Fiona hadn’t realized Reo was signaling to her. He was standing on top of the beast, gliding his fingers over its matted fur. She circled around and looked up. “Well? Did you find the mana core?”

“No, I feel no core inside this beast. While there is none, I found something interesting.” He reached out his arm, waiting for Fiona to take it. She grabbed hold and hoisted herself on top. Reo pointed at a particular spot that had a large black mark on top. “This marking right here looks awfully like a burn mark, doesn’t it? Your spell's range was too limited to harm the beast's back when you aimed for the smaller hounds.”

Fiona tapped her chin thoughtfully. “…Are you implying a different fire spell had caused this? And that an Elemental Sorcerer most likely slayed the beast?”

Reo nodded. “And that’s not all. There are multiple holes embedded within the beast’s neck. They look like wounds from something sharp… like a sword or a dagger. I also want to add it is missing both of its hind legs.”

“That would mean an Elemental Sorcerer used magic against this beast. Once it was weakened, they repeatedly stabbed it until they could no longer move. The only spoils this sorcerer claimed were its legs. It's unlikely that the lesser hounds tore them apart. The Elemental Sorcerer probably hunted this creature for food. Why else would they need its legs?”

Her comrade stared at her briefly before averting his gaze. “Hmph. I forget even you can be smart from time to time.”

Fiona’s cheeks turned red as she gripped her staff. “How dare you! Just what do you take me for, Reo?!”

Instead of replying, the man shrugged his shoulders and hopped down, walking toward Grant as he watched him store the tusks in a storage ring. Fiona’s thoughts briefly danced with the idea of igniting the man’s oily hair into a smoldering inferno, a mischievous notion that elicited a fleeting smile. Yet she shook it off. It'd be funny, yes, but Grant would give her an earful for being frivolous. That would then lead to her feeling guilty about her actions. So, as any sane and reasonable person would do in her stead, she resorted to glares.

“We should inform the branch leader about what happened here,” Grant said. “We were not the ones to slay the beast–someone else did.”

Fiona frowned. “Hey, wait a second! If we do that, then the reward money might be penalized!”

“We cannot omit any details. Think about the oath we swore when we entered the Explorer Guild.”

“Yeah, yeah, dishonesty and integrity of the business and all that junk,” Fiona said with an eye roll. She had repeated the pledge way too many times to count. It was practically embedded within her brain. “Let’s get out of here already and turn in the contract. Since you're so fond of losing money, you’re paying for our meals this time around.”

Grant nodded and walked past, taking the lead. With everything all said and done, the three of them began their trek back toward Valis, chatting amongst themselves about what they planned to do after completing the contract.