- After -
The sun shone down brightly as the waves crashed against the land. The golden sand glittered in the sunlight and little seashells can be seen partially hidden on the sand if one looked carefully.
Cadbury and Kit Kat were frolicking in the water, chasing each other while making splashes. Cadburry had shrunk herself until she was just a little bigger than Kit Kat. Aki was sure Cadburry did purposefully to gain an edge over Kit Kat.
Both of them ran and chased each other in the glittering water, displaying a scene that was full of youth. This was totally a beach scene that usually appears in episode 7 with tons of "ahahahaha~~ ", and “ufufufufu~~~”.
Aki, while ignoring the protagonist of an otome game and another potential main character, looked down at her bare feet.
The water reached up to her thighs with her pants sticking uncomfortably on her legs. But what took Aki's breath away were the multi-colored fishes and underwater creatures that could be seen through the crystal clear water, curiously swimming around her.
The unpolluted beach that was a luxury back on earth was seen so commonly here. Dolphin-like monsters jumped at a distance away, playing freely. No net-trapped animals, no trash and no polluted waters.
Aki moved to a shallow area and sat down. Water danced around her, and she could feel the movements of the waves. The air brought a tang of salt and the sound of the waves brought Aki into a relaxing mode.
She closed her eyes and savored the peace, or whatever that was left of it with the two protagonists still running about in the background.
~~~~~~~~~~
- Before -
The sun was peeking over the horizon with a light fog hanging over the sleeping town. In the midst of an empty square, a girl caked in mud from head to toe can be seen walking quickly, rushing towards a run down building.
“Misha!”
The door swung open with a loud “bang” and Aki’s voice rang through the desolate Hunter’s Guild with echoes.
“Misha!”
As fury incarnate, Aki stomped up the stairs and arrived in front of a tightly shut wooden door. No locks are able to deter Aki and she pulls open the door, breaking the lock that was just replaced a few days ago.
The room was small with a sliver of light from the slightly open curtains. Besides an old table and wardrobe, there was a luxuruous king-sized bed nestling a soundly sleeping Misha. Giving off a quiet ‘Hu.. Hu..’ snore, it seemed like it was a very enjoyable dream.
Gritting her teeth, Aki grabbed the blanket and flung it off Misha.
“Misha!!”
“Huh?... oh… good …. morning Aki…”
Misha blearily rubbed her eyes and smiled sleepily. Although it was cute with her bed hair sticking up all over the place, Aki brutally knocked Misha’s head with a fist. Lightly of course.
“Ouch!”
“You awake yet?”
Aki smiled cooly and Misha felt shivers run down her spine, immediately sitting up.
“Ye..yeah!... so… what’s up?”
“What’s up? Remember that quest you gave me yesterday? When I arrived at the place where the herb was supposed to be, it was gone! And after checking with the client, apparently the quest was already done by someone else!”
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“Eh… that’s weird…”
“How are you going to compensate me for all the time I've wasted? And you said it was urgent so I dropped everything to get there as fast as I could!”
Misha looked at Aki who was flailing her arms about and felt amused in her heart.
Compared to the reserved way Aki held herself when she first joined, now Aki is more relaxed and showed more of her emotions. She behaved like the 16 year old kid she was.
Misha kept her face straight despite all her thoughts as she didn’t want Aki to swing her fist at her again.
“It shouldn’t be possible… the system was designed in a way that prevents double taking of a quest… unless the person passed by and fulfilled the quest on the way…”
Aki let out a big sigh.
She can’t possibly blame Misha if that was the case but it was simply torturous to go down deep within a swamp and not get paid for it. Just thinking the mushy mud made Aki even more conscious of the mud that caked all over her clothes.
“Mundus. Don’t worry Aki! I have another quest for you here that pays quite a big amount!”
Looking at Aki picking the hardened mud off her clothes, Misha did a cleaning spell, revealing a full black outfit that, to be honest, was not so different from her previous look.
Misha muttered that a girl should dress up prettily and received a sharp glare from Aki. After tapping the surface of the table twice, a projection lit up and showed a C Class quest.
“This one requires you to go to the capital. Hunt a Gossypium that’s in a forest between here and the capital and deliver it directly to the Alchemy Guild. The journey there would usually take three days by foot but if you need to do a hunt too you might need a longer time. Ah, but with your abilities I don't think you need that long? Maybe three days is enough after all. But I wonder why did the alchemy guild do a direct request though. Usually they would send it to a merchant guild first… Hey Aki-”
Misha got into her work mode and started chattering off again.
Feeling a yawn coming up, Aki laid spread-eagle onto Misha’s bed with a *flomp*. This bed really was fluffy and could not compare to the hard lump at the inn. Maybe Aki should take Misha’s advice and move into the guild. What the guild had the most now was space.
With drifting thoughts and Misha’s comfortable chatter in the background, Aki dropped off into a warm dreamland.
Not getting a response, Misha turned back only to see Aki taking her place on her bed.
Giving off a wry smile, Misha turned off the projection and left the room after closing the door quietly behind her.
Misha who had worked for a long time in the guild, came into contact with a lot of veteran Hunters. And although she didn't know how Aki lived before she tripped over, she gave off a similar smell - of blood.
These battle-hardened Hunters always kept their guard up even when asleep, as the price to negligence is often their own lives. But with how Aki readily fell asleep just then, it showed how much Aki trusted Misha and felt safe in the guild.
Warmth filled Misha and she bounced off happily while humming an off-tune version of a popular song. It was time to open the guild for the day.
-
The handcrafted bronze bell attached to the top of the door rang as Aki walked into Get a Heiki shop. After getting the details of the C class quest, she needed to prepare supplies for her journey.
“Welcome to- oh hey Aki!”
Heiki was seated at the front desk while polishing a broad sword. When he saw Aki, he flashed a soft smile at her.
“AKI’S HERE?”
A loud booming voice rang from the back of the shop that was sectioned off by a thin cloth. There were suddenly sounds of items crashing that sent a heavy vibration through the floor.
“Is Takeshi okay?”
“I’m okay!”
“He’ll be okay. I swear that one day this shop will collapse because of him.”
Heiki grumbled as Aki gave a little smile. No matter how Heiki always grumbles about Takeshi’s antics, mirth can always be seen dancing in his gray eyes.
Aki perched herself onto the counter and swung her legs lazily. This little shop that was filled with dangerous weapons with a tint of metallic smell and saw dust felt tranquil to Aki.
Little dust particles danced in the air as faint sounds of hammering can be heard occasionally.
“So how was the previous quest Aki? You canceled the magic lesson again. At this rate, it'll be tough for you to even learn the basics.”
Keeping their promise, Takeshi and Heiki were teaching Aki and conducting a crash course for her when she got a notification from Misha. So far, she knew that magic or mana was prevalent in the air and that anyone can draw them into their body naturally. But how much they can draw in, and how much could be converted into magic itself was a different issue altogether.
“Let’s… just put that aside and never mention it again.”
Heiki looked at Aki’s grimace and laughed. So the cool and calm Aki also could feel annoyed.
“I received a C class quest and need to travel to the capital. What supplies do I have to prepare?”
“That’s fast. You only started off as a F class ranker the week before! The capital huh?… I think a tent, sleeping bags, rations for three days… maybe getting a whole travel package will be cheaper.”
“Troublesome. Maybe I should make do and speed my way there instead. Just a day will probably be enough.” Aki mumbled under her breath.
“Aki! So you’re going on another adventure?”
Takeshi burst out and walked to Aki’s side, hanging his arm over Aki’s shoulders.
“Just another hunt for a herb.”
“Well, you’re traveling. I‘ll call that an adventure! Actually, why don’t you come with us? It’ll be fun and we can go exploring! Right Heiki?”
“It’s almost time for us to head back, classes are going to start soon too.”
Apparently Heiki and Takeshi were still students at the Royal Academy, which boasts to be the greatest school in the whole kingdom. Many also travel from far away just to attend its classes and to be even admitted was an honor itself.
The shop was a pass down from Heiki’s late beloved grandfather, who was a renowned weaponsmith. Heiki only runs it as a pastime and was here more for the workshop at the back. He didn’t actually think he was going to sell anything, until Aki came.
“Ah but Aki is going for official business, maybe we really shouldn't bother her?”
“Ehhhh!!! But since we are going the same way anyways let's go together! And we can teach her magic on the way there too! How ‘bout that Aki? Let's go on an adventure together!!! Ohhh!!!”
Takeshi shouted and pumped his fist into the sky. Heiki sighed and leaned his head into his hands, but with a mirth as he looked at Aki expectantly as well.
Not receiving a reaction from Aki, Takeshi grabbed Aki’s hand and lifted it upwards.
“OHHHH!!!”
“O...oh….”