First Mission

D, Nebula, and I stroll around the city. It's lively, with all sorts of adventurers shopping and sightseeing. We stop in front of a tavern. Some people don't like to see a dragon walking among us.

Sun: "This is the place I wanted to show you. How about the three of us form a guild?"

D: "A guild? But they don't take kindly to non-humans."

Sun: "There's no law against monsters. And if they try something, it's not like we can't defend ourselves."

Nebula: "You underestimate the top rankers, brother."

Sun: "I don't know about you, but I want to get stronger. And there's no better way to get stronger and have adventures at the same time."

Nebula: "Are you sure we're going to level up this time? Our last guild is inactive."

Last guild...? Oh, I forgot Sun and Nebula already had a guild.

Sun: "What was the name again? It's been a while since our last mission."

Nebula: "Red Moon."

Why did I give it that name...? Oh, I think it's from a time traveler game I played.

Sun: "We still have our levels, right? Let's just reopen the guild."

We enter the building. Several suspicious glances observe us, since we're strangers. 

They don't care much about D, but rather the fact that we're beginners. I know that because I made the guild association especially competitive.

I walk to the receptionist.

It's not like they can do anything here without being penalized. The higher rankers can, but I don't think there are any here.

Sun: "Hello, we want to reopen our guild. It's called Red Moon."

— Understood. Let me show your status.

She casts a magic display in front of us, showing everything about our profiles.

I'm level 15, Nebula is 14. Wow, this system is a lot harder to rank up than I remembered.

— Your guild is E rank, sir. You can only accept rank E or D quests.

Sun: "Thanks, we'll take a look at the billboard."

— Wait a second, adventurer. Do you want to register your pet dragon as a member of your guild?

Pet dragon...? Well, I guess it's better than he being rejected.

Sun: "Yes. His name is D."

— Understood. One more thing, do you want more Stockers?

Stockers, alright... they're little bags that suck up items and serve as our inventory. I don't know where our previous ones are, but I'm sure they're just junk.

Sun: "Sure. Three Stockers, please."

She hands us our little bags. They're cheap and not that fancy, but practical.

— They are E rank Stockers and level up as your guild progress.

Sun: "Thanks again. Let me ask you something: is there any special mission that isn't on the billboard?"

— None for E or D ranks, sir.

Sun: "I see. Well, we'll get a quest and bring it here."

We walk to the billboard. There are several uninteresting missions, most for E ranks.

Sun: "I wonder why... They probably want to pay less. Some of these aren't even easy enough for a D ranker."

Nebula: "How about we start with something lighter? We're not in a hurry or anything."

Sun: "I am in a hurry. I want to get to the top as fast as possible."

Nebula: "Sun, that's not  a healthy idea. What if we die?"

Sun: "I can't die, I'm the protagonist!"

I realize I'm getting a little self-centered.

Sun: "Sorry, forget that. But we can try to get a C mission. They're safe enough for us, right?"

D: "A C rank quest? But we're not eligible for them."

Sun: "Relax, I know a way. The guild association makes exceptions for special cases. If we win their trust, we'll be rich in no time!"

Nebula: "We're already rich."

Sun: "Uh... I mean stronger!"

D: "If that's your will, I do not object. However, please consider your safety. I will do everything to keep you alive."

Sun: "If things get that complicated, sure, I'd love your help."

A nurse barges in.

— Our village is under attack! Somebody strong enough, please help us!

Sun: "See? This is our chance to shine."

I walk up to the distressed woman.

Sun: "Can you take us to your village?"

— Are you an adventurer? What's your level? Can you fight orcs?

Sun: "We're beginners here, but we're strong enough to beat dragons if you wish."

— A-Are you sure? What if you get hurt?

Nebula: "I'm a healer. We can take it."

D: "N-Nebula, you too? Well, I'm with them. With three of us, no one's a match."

— Thank you so much! The orcs are holding the villagers hostage, we can still save them!

She runs out of the building. Nebula and D follow her. I wait a second, hoping someone will follow her. They stare at me, and I can hear some of them whispering:

— Let them go. It saves us the trouble of hiring the Hunter.

I exit the building and fly into the sky to find the others.

We arrive at the village. Some buildings are on fire, infested with orcs destroying everything.

Sun: "D, freeze everything."

He flies into the sky and spits blue fire below his trajectory.

Sun: "Nebula, wait here. I'll lure the leader out. Try not to destroy the village."

Nebula: "Understood. Be careful, brother."

I run toward the nearest orc, increasing my speed with small explosions. I leap and kick him in the face, decapitating him. Another runs toward me, trying to hit me with his club. Crouching down, I punch him in the belly, obliterating his stomach and cremating him.

A large area is frozen because of D. I approach the frozen orcs and punch their bodies, shattering them. Several goblin archers fire arrows at me, which I deflect with my arms as I run toward them. I touch their stomachs with my palms and explode them.

Something hits me from behind, sending me flying and piercing through the buildings. A massive arrow comes flying toward me. I try to grab it with my hand, but it's too fast and slips from my palm. It pierces my eye a few centimeters until I pull it out, bleeding and blind.

An orc leaps over the buildings and arrives a few meters in front of me. He's larger than the others and holds a trumpet, probably to summon reinforcements.

He looks like their leader...

— Human, you'll regret coming here.

Sun: "You speak our language, huh? Why are you attacking this village? Just to steal some goods?"

— That's how we survive. You can't judge us, you do the same.

I notice D flying above, behind the orc.

Sun: "Maybe? Nah, we're better."

D spits fire at him. Another, even larger, armored orc protects his back with a massive shield. I run toward the leader and kick him in the stomach. His body trembles, but he remains in place. He hits me sideways with his trumpet, knocking me against a building. It's on fire, with some villagers being held hostage by other orcs.

I can't use my powers here, or they'll die...

I get up slowly, feeling some broken bones.

I like pain. In the other world, I rarely got hurt like this.

A tall, thin, hooded orc enters through the hole in the wall. He holds a big crossbow and aims it at me. The leader also enters, behind him.

— Resistance is futile. The villagers refuse to reveal where they hide their belongings. Will you be able to convince them?

The armored orc slams into the leader, pushing his body forward. He then aims his shield in a seemingly random direction. A massive white laser pierces his shield and body.

D comes flying in like a bullet and bites off the archer's arm. In desperation, he fires an arrow at me. I try to block it with my palm, but it goes straight through and nearly hits my other eye before stopping. The leader kicks me toward the wall, sending me flying across the village.

He throws the trumpet at me and jumps. I roll to the side, avoiding the weapon, but he adjusts his landing position and punches the ground with both hands, creating a huge hole and launching my body skyward.

A diagonal beam of sunlight comes from the sky, burning the ground and advancing toward the leader, who dodges and runs toward the source of the attack. The armored one steps in front of him and plants his shield in the ground. The archer pushes the leader away. An even larger white laser obliterates them both, leaving only the leader.

Yes, Nebula, you got them!

D flies toward the leader, ready to breathe fire again, when the leader blows his trumpet, emitting an extremely loud sound. The wind causes the fire to return to D, disorienting him in his flight, causing him to fall.

Wait, that sound... Is it an earthquake?

Still in the sky, I hear distant stomping.