The sky was a deep dark blue. The stars shone so bright despite the sky's dark contrast. Everything was quiet, the only thing of importance was a lone girl. She had messy blonde hair along with a red cross marking on her eye, wearing robes with strange symbols while muttering to herself. She was walking, all alone. The lamp posts in the street were the only thing guiding her way through the dark ghost town. She kept walking despite the awful smell and chilly piercing air. While looking forward with an empty expression she kept muttering, "forward...yes, forward... I trek on forward until I can move no more..."

***

“Hello there, are you here to register for a job?”

He nodded.

“Okay then, please let me know which job you would like to take on.”

Before the man could turn and walk towards the job board, she continued. “I will need to see your Adventurer's License to prove you are qualified however.”

The woman at the reception desk reached out her hand which made the man stop in his tracks.

“Sorry, I almost forgot.” He thought about how he hadn't been in an Adventurer's Hall in a couple of weeks. The loud bustling atmosphere filled with comradery and drunk idiots caught him off guard.

He started digging in the big bag he had strapped over his shoulder, quickly pulling out his license and she read it aloud after taking it.

“It says your name is John Selvic and you're a B-Rank adventurer.”

She looked at him then back at the card. On the card the picture of John showed off his sharp jawline along with his smooth blonde hair that looked neat and well kept.

However, his current look was anything but. His blonde hair, depicted as smooth and well-kept in the picture, was now ruffled and clearly neglected. Along with his hygiene it was clear he had seen his fair share of troubles recently.

The Receptionist gave John a look of pity, “Very well, your registration checks out. You may take on any jobs B rank or below.”

“Thank you.”

He grabbed his card and put it in his bag before thinking, [I know I look rougher and kind of dirty okay! I haven't been able to make enough money to stay in any nice inn's... I've had to sleep in stables! Freaking stables!]

Despite John’s frustration which was enough to make him release an exasperated sigh on his way over to the Job board, he was pretty excited. Finding a town with a functioning Guild along with job requests was a sight far and few over his recent journey.

After reaching the Job board he skimmed over most of the jobs in the C rank and D rank sections before checking the B rank section. John put his finger on his chin deep in thought. He saw 3 promising looking Jobs. One detailed slaying a nearby monster that was estimated to be threat level C. Another job explained his task was to do a hit job, but the flyer said more details would be given when the employer and adventurer met in person. The last was a bodyguarding job for a wealthy family, like the previous, more details would be given when meeting in person.

He looked at the board, deep in thought. [The monster slaying job wouldn't be impossible but I would still prefer to do something easier... I'd rather not do a hit job, that kinda thing would weigh on my conscience... ah, I think the bodyguarding job is the safest bet, yep. Plus, there’s always the chance I could get extra since I'd be bodyguarding a rich family, and sure I'm not the greatest fighter ever but I don't go down easily. Sounds perfect!]

With his logic being as sound as ever, he confidently scooped the flyer off the board as he walked back towards the reception desk.

John was about to blindly hand in the flyer when a question popped into his head.

“Miss, before I take this job may I ask how long the request has been here?”

The receptionist responded astutely, “I’d say you lucked out Mr.Selvic. A servant had just come earlier this morning to post it on the board.”

[Well that’s reassuring. If she said the poster had been here longer than a day, I wouldn’t have taken it. Something as simple as bodyguarding, even if it was just a B rank mission should’ve been long gone. At least now I know it’s just by chance I was the one to grab it first.]

After walking outside, now with a chip on his shoulder he was greeted by a bright sunny evening. Kids were running around, playing and laughing in the streets, vendors were on every side of the road itching to sell their wares.

John smirked, [This town has a nice vibe to it. Very peaceful yet clearly protected, evident by the Guild building being nearby.]

With a smile and hope imbued into him, he now started his brief journey towards the location his employer wanted to meet at.

2 hours later

He stared up, awestruck at the huge gate in front of him. But he was even more awestruck by the gigantic mansion behind that huge gate. After standing at the gate for a couple seconds, a woman wearing a maid uniform walked out of the mansion. She slowly and gracefully walked over to the gate with her arms crossed. The woman had hair as white as silk and eyes as blue as ice.

John gazed at her captivated by her beauty. [She's really cute, with that white hair she must be an elf, or maybe half elf since she doesn't seem to have pointy ears.]

After reaching the other side of the gate she respectfully bowed and John snapped back to reality bowing back.

“We received word that an adventurer had accepted the job. Would your name happen to be John Selvic?”

“Yes, I am him.”

She didn't say anything else for a little while, John could tell she was sizing him up.

“Despite your exterior I can tell you are really strong.”

[Exterior? Is she talking about how filthy I am? I already know, jeez.]

John looked down in slight embarrassment.

The woman continued, “Would you mind showing me your Adventurer License?”

“Sure, but why?”

“Mainly because while I can tell you are strong; if you were impersonating John Selvic we could be letting a secret assassin in.”

“All right, I understand.”

After grabbing his License and checking it she returned it swiftly.

“I apologize, I didn't genuinely believe you to be an assassin. If you were you would have easily smashed through this gate simply coming in by force or just sneaking in. It was just a formality, now, follow me this way if you will, Master Selvic.”

With a simple raise of her arm the gate opened and John walked in behind her.

[I gotta say her reasoning is pretty sound. She seems pretty strong herself too, she might be around C Rank Adventurer Level.]

As he followed behind her into the mansion he stared in awe at the décor.

Inside the mansion the floor shone silver, there were golden streaks all on the walls and desks. As the pair walked John looked left to right, seeing exotic paintings and sculptures that he knew were designed for an acquired taste. He saw many other maids but unlike the one who greeted him he could tell they were considerably weaker in comparison. They walked through 2 corridors before finally reaching a flight of stairs.

The maid stopped abruptly which caused John to accidentally bump into her due to his lack of focus of being so awestruck with the mansion. He quickly apologized but she brushed it off politely.

She outstretched her hands pointing up the flight of stairs.

“My master will be waiting to converse with you privately, Master Selvic. He should be waiting beyond the room all the way down the hall, I guarantee you can't miss it."

“Thank you.”

With one last polite bow John walked up the stairs. With every step he grew increasingly nervous, wondering what kind of person his employer would be. The reward was considerably large for a B rank mission so he didn't want to let them down.

[Okay John don’t mess up your first impression, you can do this! You saw how large the reward would be despite it just being a B rank mission. If you complete this you won’t have to worry about money or shelter for at least 3 months.]

Thoughts aside John eventually reached the large set of doors at the end of the hall. After taking a deep breath he steeled his courage, confidently opening the door.

The room was wider than he thought, he looked to his left to see a big shelf with nothing but books. There was also a white wolf head mounted above the bookshelves on the wall along with other animal heads and skins.

“Hello, nice to meet you!”

The voice calling out to him was light and squeaky. He turned to his right in confusion, seeing a big desk with the one sitting behind it being a little girl.

She couldn't have been over 11. The little girl had big blue eyes and bright blonde hair. John stood there for a couple of seconds in light confusion.

“Hellooo? You know it's rude to stare right?”

Snapping out of his thoughts he stood at attention. “Yes, um, it's nice to meet you too.”

The young girl gave a look of disappointment at his hesitance.

“I'm a little confused…” John wanted to ask if she was his employer but he didn't want to possibly offend her by not knowing if she was.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

She hopped out of the chair to walk up to him; sizing him for a couple seconds before sniffing him and wincing.

“Ew, you stink. Goodbye.”

With those words of judgement, she brashly turned and walked out the front door of the room in a hurry. John, now dumbfounded, stood staring at the door the girl had walked out of, reflecting on the encounter with a look of disdain.

[What am I supposed to do now? Was she my employer? If so, does that mean I'm fired just because I smell a little bad!? Well... maybe not a “little” but still!]

Before he could think and much less do anything else the same door opened again; this time an older man walked through.

The older man was wearing a fancy all black suit that had deep blue stripes going across the chest along with a gold insignia. The insignia had an eagle with snakes around it in a diamond pattern, John could instantly see he had a different air about him. He didn't seem to be a fighter or an adventurer but he had a certain noble composure.

Without skipping a beat, the man walked up to John, extending his hand out toward him.

“My name is Cobalt Meyers, it's a pleasure to meet you Selvic. Can I call you Selvic?”

Mr. Meyers had deep dark bags under his eyes and dark brown hair. He looked tired, not just from the bags; his eyes almost looked hollow from exhaustion.

John shook his hand firmly, “Likewise Mr. Meyers and yes that’s fine with me. I'm a little curious though, are you my employer?”

“That I am. Why? Is something the matter?”

“Oh, not really, it's just that there was a little girl sitting at your desk over there.”

John pointed to the desk to his right and after following where John pointed too. Mr. Meyers chuckled and slowly went to sit at the desk.

“Please take a seat Selvic.” John did just that and he continued, “That was my daughter, Laura. She can be quite forward so I hope she didn't give you too much of a hard time.”

John gave a dry chuckle, “Yeah... she only said I stink which I can agree on.”

“Well, if it's any consolation you may use the room to the left of this one. It's empty and there is a bathing room for you.”

“I would appreciate that, thank you.”

“So, after you're done with that, I'd like you to come back so we can fully discuss the details of this job.”

John nodded in agreement and politely exited the room.

[Ah I can't wait to get clean again!] He thought to himself cheerfully.

***

[Ah, there's nothing better than taking a nice hot bath! Oh, wait a minute...]

After stepping out of the bath John instantly realized he didn't have a clean set of clothes. He stood in thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

[There's got to be a change of clothes somewhere in this room...right? I hope I don't have to wear my same dirty clothes.]

After opening the bathroom door, he walked out while wiping his face with a dry towel. Right after that he heard a shriek that made him jump; causing him to drop his towel. He looked towards the direction of the shriek to see a Maid holding a pair of clothes over her eyes. Her cheeks were bright red. Puzzled, John questioned, “What's wrong?”

“Well, sir, you are very naked right now.”

She pointed down towards his lower area and after giving a blank stare for a couple seconds he quickly scooped up his towel and covered his lower body.

He chuckled embarrassedly. “I'm really sorry about that, I didn't think anyone would be out here.”

She shook her head, “No, it's fine. I should have knocked to inform you I came in.”

The maid who now uncovered her eyes and after an awkward pause looked back at John. This time she clearly saw his body. Many injuries were visible, he had a scar so big and deep on his midsection that you'd have thought he would’ve been crippled for life, if not dead.

“May I ask where you got that scar on your abdomen from?”

John opened his mouth to answer but no words came. He closed his mouth; looking down for a second before replying.

“I'd rather not talk about it.”

“Oh no, I'm the one who's sorry. It was rude to ask, I don’t know what came over me!”

Now flustered, the maid put the change of clothes on the bed and left the room in a hurry.

[Well, that was a strange encounter.]

He looked down at the scar on his abdomen, deep in thought. He sighed and with that, quickly put on the new outfit and walked out of the door.

After walking in, he once again spotted Mr. Meyers. However, his daughter Laura was seated beside him this time.

Laura smirked at the sight of John, “Oh, wow Mr. Stinky is back.”

She pointed at him and started laughing loudly.

“Yes, I guess I was Mr. Stinky…”

“Selvic, please sit.” John sat in front of the pair now wearing a serious expression. After a brief pause, Mr. Meyers started speaking.

“So, I will give you the full details of this job now. As you can tell from my mansion and exotic items, I am a very wealthy man. In the city of Albaede there is an election soon to be held for a major seat on the Council of 10. I am supposed to be backing one of the runners financially. That itself wouldn't be a big deal. Are you able to follow so far?”

“Yes, thank you.”

[Wow this is actually a pretty big deal! The council of 10 makes big decisions for our country. Sometimes good, sometimes bad but the bottom line is they’re a very important organization. They definitely have their fair share of enemies, I can see why the reward was so high now…]

“So, I announced who I would be supporting at the pre-election gathering. Soon after that however, I received a threatening letter saying I would be killed if I supported that man instead of another.”

“So, are you saying one of the other candidates running wants you to support them instead? Do you have an idea of who they might be?”

“Unfortunately, no, I have no idea on the identity of the sender. However, an assailant did attack the mansion a day ago, that’s why I felt the need to hire a bodyguard. You see threats are common in political maneuvers like this but a physical attack is something else entirely.”

“Right, I’m glad you and your daughter were okay.”

“Thank you, that assassin was no match for Ariene.”

Oh, I wonder if that was the maid from earlier.

“Also, I feel the need to apologize to you.”

“Why is that Mr. Meyers?”

“I feel the need to apologize since I've hired other bodyguards, meaning you won't receive the sole reward.”

John looked down for a moment before looking back up in slight confusion.

“If you hired other bodyguard's what is the need for me Mr. Meyers?”

Mr. Meyers sighed, clearly frustrated before giving his answer, “Trust me Selvic it's no personal thing. I couldn't find many, if any good adventurers around this city so I posted the job request all about. The 3 I hired are actually quite close towards the city of Albaede. It would’ve taken too long for them to arrive here. Despite that fact however, I know how foolish it is to travel alone.”

John tried his best to hide his disappointment at that news. “Oh, I see now.”

Mr. Meyers smiled. “Yes, I didn't only hire you thinking of you as second rate however, I've seen your portfolio. You are a 23 year old man who has cleared 15 D rank missions, 13 C rank, and 4 B rank. That is an exceptional number of resolved jobs, big or small for someone your age.”

John blushed slightly at the unexpected praise, “I'm glad you think so highly of me. I'll do my best not to disappoint!”

Mr. Meyers chuckled, “Good. Now, that’s all the information I have at present. I'd like to head out immediately since the threat letter I received said the deadline for a response was May 19th and it's the 17th.”

John nodded and they stood up at the same time.

Mr. Meyers crouched down and smiled warmly at his daughter Laura before kissing her forehead and walking away.

Laura smiled warmly. “See you later daddy. You too Mr. Stinky, you better bring my daddy home safe!”

John chuckled, “Right, I’ll protect him with my life Laura.”

With that last exchange John turned and walked outside the room with Mr. Meyers. Before the pair could move any further, they stopped by the white hair maid from before.

She bowed respectfully in front of the pair, “I promise I will watch and guard your daughter with my life Sir.”

“Thank you, Ariene, I appreciate that.”

[Oh, so my hypothesis was right about her being an adventurer, or at least a powerful fighter. Honestly, unless there’s a super high-level assassin or large attack force, I’m not really worried that she’d encounter someone capable of beating her. Especially from how Mr. Meyer's conveyed her strength so simply.]

The pair continued their walk until they were outside. “Do you have everything, Selvic?”

John looked down at himself. He had his sack and... well, that was it.

John looked up at attention, “Yes sir. I’m all ready to go if you are.”

They stepped into the carriage that had been waiting for them. As they pulled off, he looked back at the mansion. He could see Laura waving at them from his office window with Ariene beside her.

[Even though she’s a little rude, she seemed like a good daughter. I have to make sure to pull off this job successfully and bring her dad home!]

3 hours later

John sighed as he looked out the window of their carriage. They had been riding for a long time and while he wouldn’t welcome a fight, he was bored out of his mind.

[I need some exercise or something… I’m starting to get cramps.] He thought to himself groggily.

“Hey! Step out of the carriage!”

The carriage drew to a stop at the command. John stood up and looked at Mr. Meyers who gave a nod of approval.

John smirked slightly, [could this be the exercise I’m in desperate need of?]

After stepping out of the carriage, John looked around. There were 7 men who wore cloaks standing in a circle formation around the carriage. John quickly scanned through the group.

[Okay only two seem slightly strong. The leader who seemed to call us out and one guy to my left… Also, they have blades concealed under their cloaks. Wait.. since I noticed it so easily could they really be called concealed?]

John turned toward the leader before calling out, “What does your little posse want?”

The leader let out a dry chuckle. “Isn’t it obvious? We want that man you're trying to protect behind in that carriage of yours!”

John stretched his arms up as he walked towards them. “That's a simple goal. You guys seem to be on the weaker end though. You’re probably a test the real assassins hired. It's annoying that I’m not getting taken seriously though…”

Before the thugs could say another word, John dashed towards them.

He targeted the leader first, quickly raising his hands in a fighting stance. The leader followed suit, getting in a stance of his own and without exchanging a word, the two traded powerful blows back and forth.

The leader pulled his arm back, going for a huge swing; but John saw this coming and smoothly ducked before countering, grabbing the leader’s arm to throw him back a couple feet.

Just as John was about to continue his assault, he heard loud footsteps from behind.

[Okay, multiple people...maybe about 3?]

John quickly turned around to see more of the thugs coming. Two had small daggers while one had a katana.

John stepped forward slightly and stopped the two thugs with daggers by grabbing their arms.

Then he lifted them off the ground and started spinning them. They went flying at the thug with the katana after John released them. However, the thug ducked, seemingly unphased, just letting his comrades go flying over him. Now in the low stance he swung the blade towards John’s legs but he simply hopped up.

[That was a weird decision to go for my legs, he should know I can just jump...wait a minute!]

Oh no! John turned his head behind to see the leader a little higher in the air. It was clear this was a coordinated attack: John was so focused on the 3 goons in front of him that he neglected to think about their leader.

The leader had his arms ready, clearly about to slash down on him with a knife.

John tensed his muscles and with one smooth movement, twisted his body.

He moved his shoulder to the left so when the leader slashed down, the blade barely grazed it. However, upon doing this, he lost sight of where to land. As a result, after landing his outer thigh got slashed.

Not even hesitating a second, John kicked the thug with the katana and punched the leader, which sent the pair back a couple feet. After that, he swiftly stepped back until he was by the carriage again, leaning up on the side of it. The thugs, now feeling confident at seeing his minor wound, smirked and all started walking towards him smugly.

Mr. Meyers poked his head out the carriage window, “Hey Selvic! Are you okay?”

“Yes sir. I’m sorry, they just looked so weak I underestimated them. I’ll finish this shortly though.”

The leader of the thugs chuckled. “Wow what a joke! Finish us? With that shoulder and leg injury? That’s laughable!”

John burst out into laughter which in turn made the thugs stop in their tracks.

The leader scowled, “What’s so funny?”

“Well, you see. I’m going to fight seriously now.”

“What do you me-”

John snapped his fingers and, in an instant, all 4 of the remaining thugs fell down, unconscious.

Mr. Meyers stared in shock at the mysterious technique John displayed.

John turned to smile at Mr. Meyers, “I'm very sorry. That took a little longer than expected, I hadn’t fought in a good while. You won’t see a disappointing performance like that again.”

After the Carriage had gotten far away from the site of the battle Mr. Meyers spoke.

“Is your injury okay?”

John looked down at himself briefly, “Yes sir, I’m fine. It’s not a super deep cut, at most it would only slow me down some.”

“Okay, let me know if anything changes for the worse, then we could plan accordingly.”

“Alright.”

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Mr. Meyers spoke again, “Was that snap your Blessing? It looked to be an ability that instantly incapacitates enemies, correct?”

John stared out the window blankly “Yes, it is my Blessing but it’s nothing that convenient.”

There were a couple seconds of silence before Mr. Meyers broke it once more.

“I know I’m your employer but that may have been too forward of a question. I know blessings are usually private things that shouldn’t be talked about so casually. Also as an adventurer someone knowing your Blessing could be an easy way to get countered or eliminated in the field. I’ve just always been fascinated by them, being someone without one.”

John smiled, “It’s fine sir, I can tell you later if you want.”

“Yes, I’d like that very much.”

John stared out the carriage window deep in thought.

[There’s one thing bothering me though… I sensed someone watching toward the end of the fight when I activated my ability. The weird thing was they felt close yet I couldn’t sense their aura… darn it! I might’ve picked a job so dangerous the pay won't even come close to making up for it…]

John sighed, choosing to shake the thought away. [Well, no matter what happens I’ll do my job to the best of my ability.]