Volume 3 Chapter 6: Part 1: Another Quest

The next day, Onyx and Rena walked around Advent City. With the reveal of what Vinnie and Blaine did, people looked at them with bright smiles. What was more, they gave them free food as an apology.

Naturally, Onyx and Rena accepted all of it. But something was much different today.

"Master, what's wrong?" Rena asked him. It was too odd. Onyx did thank the vendors and people who gave them things. But Rena knew it was just repetition.

And it was not just today. When Onyx returned from his quest, with one look, she could tell Onyx was off. He didn't say anything to her and just went to bed.

"..."

"Master?"

"..."

"Master!"

"Huh?! What did you say?!" Hearing her shout, Onyx snapped out and looked surprised.

"I asked if there is something on your mind?" Rena asked.

Onyx shook his head, "No, there's nothing wrong."

Are you sure? Rena, of course, did not believe it. Throughout the entire morning, Onyx was really spacy. When he was about to move his fork into his mouth, the cheeks got the food instead. And she wasn't the only one who realized this.

Mary and Rebecca also realized how off Onyx was. That was why Rena watched Onyx, afraid he might walk into a stall.

"I understand." Knowing how Onyx operated, he won't say what was on his mind. He couldn't go on like this. Rena decided as she grabbed onto Onyx,

"Master, let's do some quests!"

"Huh?" Onyx was surprised by what she said.

"Mmmhmm, Mmmhmm!" Quests. This should be the best way for Onyx to get his mind off. But,

When have you been so happy about doing quests?

Onyx has never seen Rena so chipper about taking on quests. It was usually the default emotion: neither. She was not happy or sad about doing them.

So it was weird.

I see. It didn't take long before Onyx realized why she acted like this. She was worried about me.

Is it really on my mind this much? Yes, it was. The thought of not having to deal with the monster riled Onyx up. He felt something was off. It was how Oliver told him not to deal with it.

He's hiding something from me. But Onyx couldn't be too focused on it right now. A smile formed as he patted Rena's head, "Yeah, let's do some quests. I know we already hit C-rank. But let's aim higher. Let's aim for B-rank!"

They needed to aim for a higher rank. Rather, Onyx must.

Rena nods, "Mmhmm, we have to aim higher." He's forcing it. Despite Onyx's words, Rena knew that Onyx was pushing himself. But at least she could tell there was some change in Onyx's mental state.

"Let's get our weapons before we go to the guild." Rena nodded as they entered Gus's shop. Walking in, Onyx asks Charles,

"Charles, did Gus finish repairing our weapons?"

Charles nodded, "He finished them yesterday. Here they are." He took the weapons out under the counter and handed them to the two.

Onyx nodded, looking at his sword. This is better. Despite maintaining his weapons, it didn't hold a candle to a master blacksmith.

"Is the old man still in the back?" Usually, after Onyx would say something like this, Gus would come busting out of the back to beat and lecture him.

"Mmhmm. Master won't be able to talk to you anytime soon. After you gave him the leather, he's been working hard all day." After dealing with the Vinnie and Blaine incident, Onyx decided what to do with the python leather.

And that's to make armor out of it.

"I see." Onyx chuckled, "Do you know when he'll be finished?"

"Hmm," Charles mulled for a second, "At the pace master is going at, then probably in a week or two."

"Ok then. Rena, do you have anything else you need to buy?" Onyx got what he needed from here.

Rena nodded, "I've gotten what I need, master."

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"Let's go now. See you later, Charles." They're prepared now. And the next place they needed to go to was the guild hall. As they entered, the guild hall was different from yesterday. The tension was gone, and the adventurers and advisors were working hard.

Onyx walked over to Madelyn,

"Onyx, welcome back. How's your stomach ache?"

Onyx scratches his head in embarrassment, "It's fine. It was ok when I came back."

"I just want to make sure." Madelyn chuckled, "So what quest do you want?"

Onyx answered, "Can you give us quests that will help us to rank up to B."

Madelyn blinked her eyes a few times, "But didn't you guys rank up to C a day ago?"

Onyx nodded, "Yes, and now we want to rank up to B."

"I see." If it was another person asking this, she would not allow it. But Onyx and Rena were special cases. She knew the two's abilities were higher than C-rank. The only thing that was stopping them from ranking up was experience.

"If you want to rank up to B, how about these quests? These will help you gain experience." Madelyn placed a couple of quests on the table. Each one was different from the other.

Looking through each one, Onyx turned, "Rena, which one do you think we should do?"

"Master, you can choose one. I'm fine with any." But Onyx shook his head,

"I'm not the only one who's doing the mission too. I want to have your input in this as well." He's not the only one doing this mission. Just having his thoughts alone isn't enough. He's too inexperienced.

"Understood then." Rena looked down at the quests. Her eyes were serious as she looked at them. Thinking about it, "How about we take this one?"

"Hmm." The one Rena chose was a subjugation quest.

"Master, this quest is the furthest away compared to the others. That means we can clear it, and as we return, we can clear out the others."

Onyx grabbed his chin, "That could work." Thinking about this, this would be the fastest way for them to get B-rank.

"I won't allow you two to do something so dangerous!" Hearing the idea, Madelyn shouted out, snapping Onyx out of thought. She continued,

"Doing so many quests at once is just signing yourselves to a death warrant." Quests like these weren't supposed to be done so quickly like that!

"You guys just got to C-rank. There's no need to force your way up to B-rank. Gain some experience first." The two were jumping the gun way too fast.

"Do you understand!!!!!" Madelyn jumped out of her seat and grabbed Onyx's collar bringing him close!

"Ok, ok! We'll go at a slow pace! Can you calm down, Madelyn!" Do you not see the position we're in?! She was so close that Onyx could feel her breath on him.

But it was already too late.

"Dammit! How can they do something like this in the morning?! What is this?!"

"NOO!!! How can our Madelyn become like this!"

"It's the springtime of youth!"

It was not just Onyx who heard it.

Madelyn heard it as well. The next second, her face puffed red as she realized the position.

From Madelyn's perspective, she was talking to Onyx. But for others, it looked like she was kissing Onyx!

What should I do?!

This was the first Madelyn's in a situation like this. She turned to Onyx.

Don't look at me! I'm not the one who caused this! Onyx sighed, "We're going to take it slow. But I think the one Rena chose is good."

"..." You're not going to say anything about this?! Onyx just brushed aside the situation and continued on as if nothing occurred.

"U-understood." Madelyn gave a resentful look as she explained, "This subjugation quest is requested by the village near there. Please bring back the items as proof of finishing."

"Gotcha." Onyx left with Rena. He looked at Rena,

"What?" Noticing the unusual expression on her face, he had to ask.

"Master, you should be careful when you go out alone. Who knows which man will stab you."

Onyx sighed, "Don't you think I don't know that?!" He understood this. He could feel the resentful glares stabbing him in the back.

"Anyways, It'll take us a couple of days to get there. Want to take a carriage?"

"Sure." Rena nodded.

...

"Are you sure you want to stop here?" The coachman questioned.

"Yes. We can walk the rest of the way there." Onyx handed the coins to the coachman. They stopped halfway. After this point, it would be dangerous for a carriage to go through.

"Good luck on your quest." The coachman left after saying this

"Let's go now." As the two travel, Onyx glanced at the map, "We can make it there in the morning if we can go at this pace."

"Understood, master. But we should watch out for shadow panthers." That was one of the monsters they were requested to take down. However, it was also a tricky monster to deal with.

"We need to watch the leaves." The shadow panther's movements were like a ninja, blending in with the leaves, making it difficult to find them.

"!" Onyx quickly placed his hand in front of Rena! Feeling this, Rena and him made eye contact.

Monsters on our three. Onyx gestured with his fingers. Rena nodded and brought her bow out while Onyx placed his hand on his hilt.

Three...Two...One!

Using his fingers to count down, Onyx charged to his right before the monster could react. Rena quickly fired the arrows at the shrub.

It was an instant kill.

"So it's a bunch of bulls." The monster they killed was not shadow panthers: but a couple of bulls.

"Well, at least we got our dinner now." Onyx laughed.

"Mmhmm." Rena nodded.

"Rena, we'll rest here." As night came, Onyx knew it was time for them to set up camp, "I'll set up the tent. Can you sprinkle some blood and fetch us some water."

"Understood, master." Rena set off with the blood and bucket in her hand.

After setting up the blood circle, Rena returned with a bucket of water, and when she arrived, she smelled something nice.

"Good job bringing back some water." Onyx smiled, "I've made some grilled meat. All we need is the soup and our meal done."

And it didn't take long for that either; the soup was done in minutes. As the two ate, Rena asked,

"Master, why were you so distraught these last few weeks?"

Onyx, who was sipping on his soup, almost spit it out! He questioned, "Why would you say something like that?" He didn't expect her to ask him a question like this.

"Ahh. I spoke too much." Rena quickly shut up, realizing she might have stepped out of line.

Onyx shook his head, "No, you didn't speak too much. Relax. And the reason why I was distraught these last few days is because of the monster."

"But didn't we defeat it?"

"No, there's another one. Didn't you hear about a village being destroyed" Onyx reveals the truth? He wasn't going to hide it from Rena. Most of the guild knew about it already.

"It was one of them that caused all that damage?" Rena's expression changed.

Onyx nodded and continued, "Oliver told me to sit this one out, And that has been on my mind since today."

So that's why. Out of everybody, Rena understood why Onyx was so distraught. After all, she and he saw the carnage firsthand. She assured him,

"Whatever you decide, I will be there, master."

"Thank you." Hearing her words, Onyx did feel a lot easier. But then he asked, "Rena, can you keep a secret for me."

"If you wish it, I won't be able to say anything, master." The two were master and slave. Onyx had no need to be this formal with her at all. He shook his head,

"No, can you promise me? I won't ever order you to do anything."

"...Understood. I will keep this a secret."

"Thank you." Onyx sighed in relief as he got serious, "I think you've already realized it, but my mind has been off edge even before the exam."

"Yes, I have noticed it."

"This also has to do with the monster. When I fought with it, the thing spoke to me." It took all the energy Onyx had to speak the last sentence.

"..." Rena's eyes went wide from the revelation.

"It was begging. Begging me to save it. That's why I've been really out of it." He was fine after a while. What Darian said helped him get out of his funk. But yesterday brought him back into it.

"I see." So that's why. Rena got a clearer picture of why Onyx was so out of it. A monster that could talk; never had she seen such an occurrence.

She grabbed onto Onyx's arm,

"Master, stop worrying about it."

"..."

"The guild master is right. You should sit this out and let the more experienced adventurers deal with it. With the monster talking: I don't think you can fight."

"But-"

"We have defeated one of them. That is more than enough. You have saved many lives because of that. So let the others deal with it this time."

"..." Hearing that, Onyx nodded, "I understand."