After Elaria and that knight Dorian went into the guild’s building, Toby shaped his Mana into a bed with wheels and brought Lukas inside the resting area, then a Healer there put the boy on a bed.

Toby used one of the balls of water, the size of a marble, which Nanna gave him and healed Lukas.

Funny enough, it was when Nanna gave him these water balls that he found out he could put small trinkets like these inside his shell. When Nanna asked Toby how he did that, he could only shake his head and said he didn’t know either. His autonomy made no logical sense at all, even to him.

Toby thanked the guild’s Healer for helping him and told her he could look after Lukas.

“Uhhhh,” Lukas let out a groan as he slowly opened his eyes after almost an hour. “Big bro Toby?”

“Rest for now. You pushed yourself too hard,” Toby said.

“I won… didn’t I?” Lukas said softly.

“Yeah, you won fair and square.”

Lukas used his forearm to cover his eyes as he spoke with a cracked voice, “I won.” A single tear fell down his cheek into the brown pillow under his head. “I have the strength to protect now.”

Toby looked at the boy with a sad gaze, but soon, he hid it away. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was more similar to that bastard Voss than someone as pure-hearted and caring as Lukas.

He could never shed tears of joy and got overwhelmed with emotion like Lukas. He had no more tears left. Toby used all his tears long ago when he was the only one left. The tears were gone, yet, his rage remained the same. The more he looked at Voss, the more he hated how similar that bastard was to his former self. And the more he looked at Lukas, the more he was reminded that they were not the same.

Am I doing the right thing? Staying with the kids and contaminating them with this ugliness?

They stayed in silence. The only sound in the room was the sound of Lukas’s sniffle.

“I’m fine now. Let’s go home and show Grandpa Grillion and big sis Lily our tags. We are officially Silver Rank Adventurers after all. Oh, maybe we could even go out and celebrate with juicy roast meat.” The boy bounced up and said cheerfully.

“…Yeah, let’s go home,” Toby said that, but his thought was different. Home, huh?

Lukas picked Toby up and put the turtle on his head before they headed out. Once they reached the hall, they saw Tootha talking about something with a human woman Adventurer. She wore an oversized green robe and hood, most likely a Mage. On second thought, it looked like the vampire was flirting rather than talking. Oh, the woman slapped him before storming off.

It so happened that the bard’s head was slapped toward Toby’s direction. With new targets locked in sight, the bard smiled as he approached the two.

"Lukas, my courageous friend, thank you for saving this poor little bard's life,” Tootha said as he grabbed Lukas's hands and shook them with extreme vigor. “How are you feeling, my young friend?”

“I’m feeling much better than before. Thank you for asking uncle Tootha.” Lukas beamed.

Tootha grabbed his chest and fell on his knees as if he had been assassinated with the world's deadliest poison and couldn’t take the pain. If Toby didn’t know better, he would think the bard was having a heart attack.

But the vampire quickly stood up and flung his bang backward. “My young friend, I’m merely forty-two years young. Please refer to me as brother instead of uncle.”

“Brother? But you are older than my dad.” Lukas tilted his head.

Tootha grabbed his heart as he suffered another critical hit.

“Listen well, my young friend. Physical age means nothing to us who are connected by destiny. We are soul-bound brothers who would never forsake each other in times of need. We are like flowers that enhance each other's beauty as we stand out in a well-maintained garden. That’s why something like calling me uncle isn’t something you should do.” Tootha spoke passionately for some reason.

“Ok, I understand, uncle Tootha.”

The bard hung his head and dropped his shoulders.

“Anyway, what are you doing, Tootha? And why is the guild so rowdy?” Toby changed the subject.

“Let me tell you some great news, my friend. We are about to hit it big.” The bard made an ok hand sign as he smirked evilly. “We heard that the Hero of Lighting was selecting Adventurer to form two parties and perform a mission we had never been able to do before.”

Toby didn’t like the sound of that. He would like to stay as far away from that guy as possible.

“Really?” Lukas voiced so loudly that he almost shouted.

“Yes, we don’t know what the mission is yet, but everyone was excited to present themselves as candidates. You should know that this is a chance of a lifetime. Not only will we be able to work with an established Hero but we can also gain much fame and fortune in the process. All the ladies will love us.” Tootha said with a perverted face.

“Where do we sign up?” Lukas asked as his tail wagged repeatedly.

“That’s the thing. It's just a rumor started after your duel, but if the Guild Master came down and made the announcement, then it will be official. We just have to wait for the Guild Master.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Something’s weird here. Toby thought. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is definitely strange.

“Why do you like this Hero so much, Lukas?” Toby asked.

“He was the one who saved the children from my village from the monster. I have always wanted to be a Hero because I look up to him and want to save people just like he did.” Lukas answered with clear excitement in his voice.

Shit. I really hope I’m wrong about this. Toby thought.

“So what do you say, my two young friends? Want to form a party with me?” Tootha offered.

Toby remembered what the proctor for his and Lukas’s test told them – a Bard could be a great choice to form a party with. The only problem was he didn’t know this vampire well enough for that. The fact that he was a vampire but wasn’t treated with contempt when the city was dealing with a huge vampire issue spoke volumes about this guy. But Toby still couldn’t trust someone that easily.

The only ones he had trusted quickly were his goofball best friend and Grillion. Both proved his judgment in character was correct. Maybe he could agree first and see if he could trust this bard the same way.

“Before we agree, mind if I ask you what you can do for the party, Tootha? I’m a Healer but I mostly fight on the frontlines like a Monk. You already know what Lukas can do.”

“Of course, that is reasonable.” Tootha nodded. “As a Bard, I can increase your stats temporarily with my support Skills. I don’t have many attack Skills but I can make up for it by having long-range attack – something you two are lacking.”

“That sounds good.” Toby nodded.

“Of course, the best thing I can offer to the party is my love songs that have stolen the hearts of many maidens. These songs will boost our morale in our darkest times. Like the moon always shines brightly and guides the lost in the darkest night.” He closed his eyes and put one hand on his chest while the other reached toward the sky theatrically.

“…Sure,” Toby said flatly. “We have two front lines and a supporter. Now that we have that cover, she should look for a Mage with high DP… ehem, high magic attack power. Any suggestion?”

“That’s also what I was trying to do, but alas, it seems luck isn’t on my side today.” Tootha sighed.

“…Wasn’t you trying to flirt with her?”

“Of course, women are meant to be treasured and treated like queens. They deserve nothing more than the highest praise. They are the muses in our lives, the flowers in our gardens, the suns in our skies. Ah, women are the best.”

“…” Toby was speechless with this dude. “Lukas, don’t ever be like this guy.”

“I won’t.” Lukas smiled as he shook his head.

Toby suddenly smelled something he had never smelled before. It was distinctive even among the hundreds of scents here in the hall. The strange scent was a mix of a lingering, earthy smell like in Nanna’s home; an astringent whiff like that of sour citrus; and a kind of chalky smell. Overall, it was an extremely subtle but distinct floral aroma with an earthly note to it.

Toby looked around to find the source of that smell. And he found it, or rather, her.

The smell came from a rabbit girl with two big white-yellow ears sticking out from her black, pointy hat. Her autumn lake-like eyes were as clear as the sky, her bright yellow hair somehow stood distinct from the orange light around her and the sea of color from the Adventurers. The staff she was holding looked old and ancient, with bandages wrapped around it like it was about to break at any moment. Her gentle, petite frame and features hidden under her blue mantle, black shirt, and pants were hard but not impossible to see. She truly looked like a rabbit who wouldn’t even hurt a fly.

“Nice find, my young friend,” Tootha said as he looked in the same direction Toby was looking.

“It was a coincidence,” Toby said, but he knew a Mage shouldn’t have such a thick floral and mineral fragrance on them.

“I shall invite her to join our party.” Tootha dashed at the rabbit girl in a heartbeat.

“Big bro Toby,” Lukas called after Tooth went out of hearing range.

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t we invite big sis Lily?”

“…I’ll be frank, Lukas. I think this mission is fishy and might be extremely dangerous. I don’t even want you to participate in this. But you won’t give up this chance, won’t you?”

“…No. I’m sorry. But this is a chance that I can’t pass by, big bro Toby. This might be my only chance to learn from the Hero of Lighting, Dorian Draven, himself. I can’t give this up. I have been my dream for the past year. How can I be willing to give up if it is just dangerous? What kind of Hero will I be if I run away from danger?”

Toby sighed, then mumbled. “We truly are nothing alike.”

“Did you just say anything, big bro Toby?”

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s stop that bard before he blows our chance to recruit anyone.”

As they got closer to Tootha, they saw the bard take the rabbit girl's gloved hand, bow, then introduce himself.

“Greeting beautiful lady, Bard Tootha Bones at your service. May I know the name of a gorgeous flower such as yourself?”

The rabbit girl stared at the vampire before she said, “Hey old man, if you don’t let go of my hand, I’ll hit you with this staff, ok? I know I’m beautiful, but I’m not that kind of easy girl you think I am.”

“Eh?” Tootha looked up at the rabbit girl.

She was staring at him without blinking. Her eyes looked dead serious as a glint of red flashed. When Tootha was about to let go, the rabbit girl had already swung her staff at the poor bard’s face. The staff hit its target with deadly accuracy, causing Tootha to faceplanted.

“Go find someone else to trick into your bed, pervert.” She shouted before walking away.

“Can you all not cause me so much trouble? I have enough on my plate already, I don’t want to clean up the mess you children make too.” Elaria grunted as she came down from the second floor.

The moment she stopped at the sixth step from the first floor up on the stairs, all eyes in the hall directed at her.

She clicked her tongue as she cracked her neck. She looked like someone had stolen her last piece of meat on the grill. Elaria spoke loud and clear for everyone to hear.

“It seems that all of you already heard the news, so I’ll make it simple. We are creating two parties to infiltrate the sunken ruins and take care of the diver vampire problem. Once and for all. They have been a thorn in our side for long enough. It’s time to get rid of them.”

The Adventurers mumbled at her words. One of them asked.

“Is it true that the Hero of Lighting will lead this mission, Guild Master?”

“No,” Elaria said flatly.

The Adventurers mumbled again.

“Instead, he and I will act like mentors. Each one of us will train one party. Once both parties are ready, we will send them to take out the vampires.”

“If both of you and the Hero of Lighting won’t be joining, then how can we be sure of the mission’s success, Guild Master?”

“We don’t. This is a mission. Not a babysitting trip.”

“Is there a point to doing this, Guild Master? Why now?”

“Some of you should have guessed from his arrival that this isn’t a simple mission. It’s something related to the Temples. That’s all I can say. If any of you want to join, you have one day to apply. Starting now. Dismiss.”

With that said, Elaria hurried out of the guild as if she were in a rush to head somewhere. After she was gone, the Adventurers spoke louder as they discussed what to do.

“What do you guys think?”

“I will pass. Joining a mission like this is nothing short of suicide.”

“Well, I think it was still worth a shot if the Guild Master and that Hero train us themselves.”

“Yeah? For how long? It isn’t like they will accept you as their disciples and share with you their secrets. The training is just temporary, and I bet it will be focusing on what they want us to do once we reach the ruin instead of teaching us how to be stronger.”

Discussion raged on everywhere as Toby looked at the bard, who was still faceplanting with his butt saying hello to the ceiling.

“You ok, dude?”

“Never better,” Tooth gave Toby a thumbs up before he stood up. “I don’t think she will join us though.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“That’s not my name, my friend.” Tootha combed his hair with his fingers. “Don’t you worry, I shall find us the most suitable Mage.”

That doesn’t sound trustworthy at all. Toby thought.