The weather was hot, so I covered my head with the hood of my cloak. My god, summers in this world are unbearable... Well, at least I managed to convince Maris to stay at home. Hell yeah, I'm so happy! But fuck that fox... I can't even talk to him. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for Maris. I doubt she'll enjoy being confined to that room. Of course, she won't.
Hah... Fuck those annoying goblins! My knee hurts. I wish Maris could heal bruises and bone pain. I stepped into the tavern and walked through the chaos caused by one of the gamblers. I was used to this by now, and even the tavern owner didn't seem to care. What a hilarious atmosphere. I climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. No way she'd be sleeping at this hour.
"Maris, let's have lunch," I said, standing behind the door.
A moment later, the door opened, and my nose was instantly hit by a delicious aroma—sweet and savory at the same time. My god, this smells amazing. What's in there? After Maris opened the door, she greeted me with that beautiful smile of hers before stepping aside to reveal the dish on the table.
It was a beautiful sight, and the smell was even better—a large plate with a honey-glazed chicken, accompanied by a few apricots. The chicken was slightly small, but its reddish color could be seen from miles away. The honey gave it a majestic glow, and the steam rising from it created an aura—almost like Nen. And let's not forget the two guardians standing beside it—two glasses of cold orange juice.
"This is our lunch! A chicken glazed with honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds, with apricots to add a bit of sweetness. And all of this for just three nova!" Maris said excitedly, pointing at the dish and explaining every part of it with enthusiasm.
Awesome!" I replied, grabbing a chair, ready to devour this chicken that looked like it came straight out of Hunter x Hunter!
"I've decided from now on to prepare our lunch and eat together in the room instead of the tavern," Maris added.
"Great. I see you've cleaned up the mess," I muttered, glancing around while feeling the chicken thigh melt in my mouth.
"Fiona told me they'll be bringing a new bed. Finally, we'll get rid of this worn-out one," Maris said.
"Nice. So, your life isn't so bad, is it?"
"Maybe… but I'll get used to it. So, did you finish the goblins quest with Ponier?"
"Yeah!" I said, handing her the pouch of coins I earned from the quest.
"There's two nova and eighty-three bils. For some reason, Ponier didn't want to split the money and only took seventeen bils."
"Strange... So forming a party with Ponier is great, isn't it?" Maris said as she counted the coins and stored them in one of the drawers.
"Yeah, but… he's weak. I don't know how he even reached Bronze rank. I'm stronger than him," I said, recalling Ponier's ridiculous actions during the goblins quest.
"Really? Well, don't forget you have a spirit weapon," Maris murmured after finishing a bite of chicken.
"By the way, Thalesa, when will I get new abilities? I've fought so many monsters."
"Now... you don't have much left. I think you'll get two abilities soon. I've gained a lot of power in your fights... I'm just not used to this rapid growth. No one has used me in a long time, so I need some time to grasp the amount of power I'm receiving now," Thalesa answered.
"Then you'd better keep up with my pace, slowpoke."
"You're the one sounding toxic now, not us, so shut up already," Thalesa snapped.
"By the way, why don't you want to reveal the truth about your sword?" Maris asked, pushing the plate aside. My god, she got full so quickly.
"I think it would just be a hassle..." I muttered, my mouth full of chicken and apricots.
"This meal… it reminds me of that palace," I said.
"Yeah, I think we need to see Camellia and the others," Maris replied while sipping her orange juice.
Fuck! Maris doesn't know that Camellia betrayed us. Should I tell her? No, no. We've just started moving past Petal's trauma. I can't throw her into another one. Fuck that bitch. She sold us out like dogs!! The moment I see her, I swear I'll cut off her head—and her father's too. Just wait. I had my suspicions about her from the start…
"Alright, I've decided to take another quest with Ponier. I'll head out in a while," I said, finally finishing the chicken.
"So, how was lunch?" Maris asked as she left the table and headed for the bed.
"Amazing..."
Then, she lay down and started undressing, revealing her perfect body. What a breathtaking sight. She spread her legs, looked at me with a smile, and whispered:
"Well, time for the main course."
◆ ◆ ◆
Inside Alis Guild, the place was as crowded as ever. As usual, the quest boards were nearly invisible behind the swarm of adventurers gathered around them. A figure squeezed his way out of the crowd, pushing everyone in his path. He was of average height, clad in leather armor with a hood over his head. His orange fur and sharp yellow eyes made it clear—he was a Foxen.
After shoving aside the last person in his way, he cursed:
"Damn it, your numbers never end!"
"What's the matter, you sly little fox?" one of the adventurers said, placing a hand on the Foxen's—or rather, Ponier's—shoulder.
"Sly little fox? You looking for a fight?" Ponier growled, gripping the adventurer's hand tightly.
The adventurer shoved him back, making Ponier stumble slightly from the force. At that moment, the entire guild erupted, the adventurers chanting in unison:
"Fight! Fight!"
Suddenly, one of the receptionists stepped in, positioning himself between Ponier and the other adventurer. He shouted, "Hey, you two! If you wanna fight, do it outside the guild!"
The adventurer backed off, but Ponier kept glaring at him like a demon. Then, another adventurer approached the enraged Foxen. He was slightly taller, with white hair and a fine sword hanging from his waist. Upon seeing him, Ponier smirked faintly and shook his hand before saying:
"You're late. What happened?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just having lunch," Laos replied.
"Well, I found a special Bronze-rank quest. You won't be allowed to take it, but don't worry—I'll split the money with you," Ponier said with a sly grin.
"Good. What's the quest?" Laos asked.
"Killing four Herboazes on the third floor of the southern dungeon," the Foxen replied.
"Alright, let's go!" the white-haired adventurer exclaimed as he withdrew with Ponier from the guild.
Another day, another quest—so this is the life of adventurers. It's not as amazing as I imagined. Well, it's not bad, but… how do I put it? I guess I'm just lazy. All I want is to lie down without any annoying movements. But now, I have to fight. Okey, this is maturity, and this is my job, so I've accepted all these things. I'm just an adventurer making a living off quests now.
"Thalesa, what are Herboaz?"
"Herb boars. They're Tier 3 monsters, but some of them are really strong and can shoot Binding Vines. They might tie your legs with them and make you fall," Thalesa explained.
"I see..."
"So, the southern dungeon… It's the same dungeon where the Dark Eye attacked," I muttered, recalling the sight of that girl, feeling slightly dizzy... Shit!
"Yes, but you're wrong. Just yesterday, four adventurers from the Clawsin guild were found dead inside the Moon Ruins. It never stops—every day, someone or an entire party dies," Ponier said.
"Why don't they file a complaint to the king? It's strange—I haven't seen any serious actions taken regarding this," I said, puzzled by the events unfolding as we walked away from Iveleth.
"They have—multiple times. But nothing happened. Today, they sent another complaint. I hope the capital responds."
"Don't you think the kingdom is involved in this? At the very least, they should monitor that adventurer, Etomi."
"Laos… Every solution you suggest, the kingdom has already tried. They've monitored Etomi multiple times and found nothing suspicious about her. Yet, her strength is still questionable..."
"Besides, maybe... yes, the kingdom might be involved in what's happening," Ponier whispered, making sure no one else could hear him.
"I just hope nothing bad happens to us. As long as it doesn't affect me, it's not a big deal," I said.
"Not a big deal? You're insane, Laos. So, all these lives mean nothing to you if they aren't connected to you?" Ponier said with a broad grin, as if he liked my response.
"Honestly... yeah, I don't care about them," I replied. Well, no point in hiding these feelings. It's obvious he already saw me as a selfish person before.
"Interesting," he muttered.
After a while of walking, we finally arrived at the dungeon entrance. As usual, the place was crowded with adventurers. Ponier took off his backpack and started checking its contents. Hah, looks like he's preparing potions and all that stuff. Unlike me—I only have my Astral sword and am heading straight to raid the third floor. What a careless adventurer I am... Well, I'm still not used to this life, so don't expect much from me.
"Alright, I have three health potions and one magic potion. Let's go," Ponier said as he put on his backpack and grabbed his two short swords.
"One torch, please," Ponier said, handing five bils to an old man standing near the entrance.
The old man then lit a wooden pole at one of the campfires and handed it to Ponier. Amazing—everything is organized here. They even sell torches right in front of the dungeon entrance. Impressive! We entered, and the torch illuminated our path. Ponier then handed it to me and said:
"Hold this. I'll clear our way to the third floor by killing the Stingers."
"No, no, you hold it. Leave the Stingers to me!" I replied, remembering that Thalesa needed to adapt to my leveling speed. So I had to kill as many monsters as possible on this quest.
"Oh god, we need a torchbearer in our party," he said while holding the torch and moving forward.
"For real," I muttered as I advanced, gripping my sword and waiting for any Stinger to show up.
"Thalesa, what's a torchbearer?"
"It's one of the adventurer classes in Staria. The torchbearer is someone solely responsible for carrying the torch and lighting the way for their party in dungeons."
Torchbearer? No way. What a class. I think getting the NPC class would've been better. Imagine your only duty being to light the way—how stupid. It's like those stories where there's a party member whose job is to carry luggage and sometimes serve as bait... I haven't seen anyone like that yet.
"Alright, kill the Herboaz is a special quest for Bronze-ranked adventurers, so get ready," the fox said, as if he were a Platinum-ranked adventurer. God, his words remind me of the mess he made during that wolf battle. What a failure.
After walking for a while, I spotted a gray-furred Stinger. It noticed me at the same moment. It then charged at me with its tiny horn, suddenly leaping toward me with its mouth wide open and its massive incisors ready to bite. Hah, such a basic attack, you dumb.
"Fuck you!" I shouted as I sliced it with a single swing.
"Oh, let's take its horn," I said.
"No, no, no, no! If this isn't your quest, you have to leave it. If another adventurer has a quest to collect Stinger horns, they'll take it—well, if they're lucky enough to get here before the Nemesis resets and regenerates the Stinger," Ponier explained.
"I see... Alright, let's move on."
After walking for a while, I saw a large gathering of Stingers. Fuck, there are a lot—eight of them? I stepped back and pointed at them so Ponier could see, hoping we'd change our path or come up with a plan. But it was too late—they noticed us right after that fucking fox shouted:
"Keep going, Cloud Hair! Why'd you stop?!"
"Fuck, are you dumb?!!" I shouted, gripping my sword as I waited for them to rush at me.
I immediately unleashed multiple Water Slashes, sending several of them flying away after getting hit by my powerful attacks. Ponier then rushed in, holding the torch in one hand and one of his short swords in the other. With incredible speed, he swiftly cut down the remaining Stingers. Just like that? That was fucking easy.
"Let's move on," Ponier said, raising the torch high as he led the way into the dungeon's darkness.
"Yeah!"