I looked over the board. Various posters had been put up. They were for collecting herbs, on one it said a horde of wild Aicrons had made a den near a road and was causing trouble for passersby. Another merchant needed protection traveling to the Holy Empire. One in particular caught my eye, It was made of a darker material. I read the golden inscribed letters

A Scarlet dragon has been spotted three clicks from Ariadne. Disposal Reward: 3 million Denarii

That would be enough to last me for years. I wouldn’t be able to accept that quest now but I made a mental note to not forget it.

“Hey, you just became an adventurer right?”

I turned around to an eager face. A guy around my age was looking at me. He had dirty blonde hair. A bow and quiver were poking over his back.

“The name’s Edward,” he said. He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at a group of two girls and one guy. “We were wondering if you would want to join our party, we’re not very experienced but you’ll be better of starting in a group, we can show you the ropes, you know!” he said mimicking reins with his arms.

“No thank you,” I said.

“First-time adventurers have to join a party,” said the lady I had met at the front desk. She had appeared behind me.

“Where you eavesdropping, Lady?” I said.

“Lady?” she asked. “Not at all, I am simply providing assistance. My name it’s i, the only other name you’ll need to know is Sir Lancaster the Guildmaster.”

“That does it then,” said Edward. “You’ll join us won’t you?”

“Fine,” I grumbled back.

“Yes!” exclaimed Edward. He looked at the board. “How about we do this one,” he said pointing at the one with the wild Aicrons. It’s C rank which is perfect for us. By the way, if you’re in a party you’re allowed to do quests that are one rank higher than the lowest member in your group, you’re probably D Class which means it's fine,” he explained.

“I’m not sure what a wild Aicron is since I’ve never heard of a tame one,” he joked.

The door to the guild slammed open. Thick boots clunked against the wooden floor. A hooded figure walked through the door. A smaller figure in a brown cloak and a large backpack was trailing behind him.

The atmosphere in the room changed. People quieted down when they noticed him. Only the odd whisper penetrated the silence.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Edward.

“That’s Wulf an S Class adventurer,” said Edward in a low voice, “He came here out of nowhere only a couple of months ago and blew the previous guild records out of the water, rumour has it he got to A Class on his first day in Ariadne. Everyone’s afraid of him though, he has a bad temper and doesn’t get along with anyone.”

Clara walked to the front desk.

“Hello Wulf, what brings you here today?” she asked.

The guy’s mana signature was unusually low, it swirled just barely inside his body. That was the tell-tale sign of someone who was concealing their mana. That was no ordinary feat to master, especially since it seemed he maintained that day-in day-out.

He walked over to the board and snatched the dark poster with golden writing. His brown eyes locked against mine as he walked past. He placed it on the table.

“We accept this dragon quest,” he said scowling.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The person who had come in with him took of their hood as well. It was the girl who had saved me.

“I know her,” I mumbled. “What is she doing with a guy like that,”

A bearded man stood up from one of the tables. “Synthia, why are you in a party with Wulf? wouldn’t you be better off joining our party?”

She sighed audibly before responding.

“I simply don’t want to, I have my reasons not that I expect you to understand,” she said fiercely.

“Leave her alone!” snarled Wulf turning to the man. The room went silent and the man hurriedly sat back down. Wulf faced Clara again and rolled up the quest. He put it in his cloak.

The noise level slowly buzzed back to normal after they had left.

I turned to Edward. “Should we get going?” I asked him.

He nodded. “The road is a bit outside the walls so we should leave now.”

“Don’t we need to sign up as a party?”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” said Clara from behind the desk.”You can head out, I’ll take care of that.”

We headed out as well. On the way there they explained their roles and abilities to me. Their party consisted of Edward who was an archer, and Esmeralda who fought close combat. She duel-wielded daggers for close combat but relied more on her stamina and agility to attack without getting hit herself. Petros was a swordsman, he also of course fought at close range. He had jokingly said his sword was so dull you could grab it by the blade and use the hilt to cut instead. Lucia was a mage and provided both long-range support as well as healing. She specialised in demobilization spells that trapped the enemy.

We were along the well-trodden road when the sound of braying broke our conversation. A horse-drawn cart broke over the hill in front of us. It was speeding right toward us. The horse was frothing at the mouth from the exertion and the steerer was wide-eyed, his body tense.

“You better get out of here!” He shouted. “Aicrons are down the road, they ambushed me!” he shouted.

We looked at each other rapidly before running in that direction.

“Why are you running in that direction,” said the driver.

“We’re adventurers!” shouted Edward back.

Aicrons weren’t incredibly dangerous animals to my knowledge. They were large dog-like beasts with shaggy brown fur and had a single large dark horn protruding from between their ears. Despite their appearance, they weren’t monsters. Nevertheless, they’re still wild animals, and wild animals are dangerous. Aicrons were mainly an issue when they gathered into packs. A lone Aicron wouldn’t attack as often or target humans since an Aicron is much weaker and more vulnerable when by itself.

As we went over the crest of the hill, I saw several Aicrons running in our direction.

“We’ll hold them off here!” shouted Edward drawing his bow.

The first Aicron neared us. It yelped in surprise. A thick green liquid was oozing out of the ground. That must be the work of Lucia.

“I got this!” yelled Petros unsheathing his sword. He darted to the side raising his sword.

Another Aicron crept to Petros’s side.

“Be careful!” I shouted. I crept behind them and punched it squarely in the snout. It fell over itself and began falling down the hill. With a mighty cry, Petros swung his sword.

The Aicron yowled in pain. It was still alive and moving.

“It’s this sword!” shouted Petros. “It didn’t cut through!”

The blade had only made a shallow cut in the tough hide of the beast. The beast now fearing for its own life was struggling furiously against Petros and was in the process of freeing its paws from the adhesive ground. An Arrow planted itself into its side but it would not go down. Petros gave a roar and smashed it against its neck. It fell limp to the ground.

Esmeralda darted forward to face another Aicron. She sidestepped its jaws and sliced along its body with her daggers. Edward provided support, firing a volley of arrows in its side. Esmeralda turned back to the neck. In that moment the Aicron tilted its head aiming its horn straight at her face. There was no way she would survive the strike. She had been so focused on getting into the right position she had left herself unguarded. She didn’t have good durability in general. It would stab into her face and kill her instantly.

I shot a mana thread around its horn and dragged its head back by the horn. Esmeralda plunged her daggers into its neck. Blood gushed from the wound and its mana grew fainter, each strong heartbeat pumping more blood out.

What were these people thinking, they were terrible at working as a team. How did they survive this long by themselves?

“Work together, Petros pull back and be ready, Edward draw one in with arrows. Lucia demobilise it then!” I barked out.

Petros retreated until he was slightly in front of Edward. Edward drew back his bow and fired a shot into one of the Aicrons. It snarled and ran toward him. Edward dropped his bow when it approached him, instinctively lifting his hands in fear. The green slime grew from the ground and enveloped the Aicron’s paws. Its momentum kept it going and its snout smashed into the ground. Petros ran sprinted forward with his sword and swung at it. The blade skidded of its thick fur. That damn sword!

“Aim for the horn!” I shouted at Petros.

“But It’ll break!” shouted Petros. “The horns are the most durable part!”

“Just do it!” I shouted back.

With a look of desperation, he swung it at the horn. His blade clipped the horn shaking the Aicron’s head. A piece of the blade fell with a damp clunk onto the ground. Petros plunged the now jagged razor-sharp edge into its side. It must have hit a vital organ as the Aicron immediately stopped moving.

I could sense an Aicron nearing my back. Relying only on my sight would have left me unaware but by sensing the mana in my environment, it was as well hidden as a black cat in a snowstorm. I acted relaxed while facing the other direction. It dashed forward, jaws open.

I swiveled around on the balls of my feet and decked it on the temple.

That makes four.

There was one last Aicron left. It raised its hackles and growled menacingly with its tail raised. Its fur shifted and vibrated, expanding to make it appear longer. Despite its display of aggression, it didn’t attack us. Aicrons were pack creatures, after all, once alone they were much more vulnerable and weaker especially since they couldn’t coordinate attacks. It took off down the side of the road and disappeared into the forest.

I walked back to the party. They were high-fiving each other. I was going to give them a piece of my mind.

A piercing scream came from the forest. It was the distinct voice of a young girl. It was in the same direction the Aicron had disappeared into.