Chapter 6: The Adventurers' Ideal First Date

“It felt good to be handed your license, didn’t it? I spent two days polishing mine and sleeping with it beneath my pillow.” Galien cast his line into the water and waited for a bite. He and Vito sat against a large tree stump near the lake. The sound of the river emptying into the lake echoed nearby, and a warm afternoon sun beat down on them.

“Heh. Something like that.” Vito didn’t want to admit that he faltered and called Greye “father.” He raised Vito and Galien together as brothers, but he didn’t want to get between Galien and his father.

“Father will have a grand feast prepared for us when we go back later,” Galien informed him.

Vito grinned and sat up. “Let’s bring some fish for them.”

Galien sat up and became serious. “Round 2, Vito. You knocked me down, but I’m going to catch enough fish to knock you down.” His eyes briefly glowed as he repositioned his line.

Vito raised an eyebrow. “Sure, but I thought body-strengthening magic wasn’t allowed in friendly sparring matches.” Body-strengthening spells were basic skills for them. Delwyn taught them how to enhance their bodies in various ways when they were younger, making them stronger, faster, and providing sharper eyesight. With proper training and control, Vito was able to cut a boulder in two at the age of 14. He could leap to the top of trees and run through the entire hamlet in a little over a minute.

The boys enhanced their eyesight to see below the waterline. Vito stood up and grabbed a nearby stick. He sharpened one edge with his knife and tied a string around the other to use it as a harpoon. “Game on, cugino.”

“What?” Galien was confused by the terms he used.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. My head was elsewhere,” he aimed his harpoon at the water. Vito always had a friendly rivalry with his cousin Matteo, and Galien reminded him of his favorite relative.

The two collected multiple buckets of fish after a few hours. Vito won their competition by a slim margin, and he took his victory in stride.

“So, uh…” Galien nervously began. “Who are you going to invite to the banquet?”

Vito grinned and raised an eyebrow. “I have someone in mind. I imagine you do as well. Who is it?”

“Let’s say their name at the same time,” Galien said. Vito casually shrugged.

“Kaelyn,” they said in unison.

Vito stopped in his tracks, mere feet from their hamlet. Galien stopped and studied his face. They were at an impasse. “She’s a fine girl. I’m sure your luck with her will be better than mine. I hear she likes strong and muscular men.”

Galien was surprised. “I-I… Just like that? You’re going to let me ask her first?”

“Yes. I think you like her more than I do. I’m sure you’ll make her happy.” In reality, Vito didn’t plan to seriously pursue her. He planned to have some fun rather than begin a serious relationship.

“Oh, okay.” Galien and Vito continued into the hamlet. “How would you have approached her?”

“It’s simple. She’s a skilled archer and practices for hours every day. Join her and make her interest your interest,” Vito explained. “A gift couldn’t hurt, either. I overheard a couple of guys talking about a dungeon nearby. The treasure didn’t interest them, but it might interest Kaelyn.”

“What is it?” Galien perked up.

“A magic bow that conjures exploding arrows.”

“It didn’t interest them?” Galien was incredulous.

“Neither of them practices archery, and they didn’t want to cause an explosion. Kaelyn has the “Proficient Archer” title; she should be able to use it without worry,” Vito explained.

“Perfect!” Galien pumped himself up. “I’ll find it and give it to her as a present.”

“A fine idea,” Vito patted his shoulder. “Adventurer rule number one: never go on a quest alone, so I’ll go with you. Romance rule number one: girls like going on adventures. Invite her along.” Galien handed Vito his bucket and raced off to find the pretty archer of his dreams. Vito envied him. He was exactly the same when he met Rosa.

“I didn’t think Vito would need help to improve his rank,” Kaelyn remarked as the three left the hamlet. Vito retrieved his sword and knife, and Galien seemed to walk with pride with a new greatsword almost as tall as him on his back.

“Adventurer rule number one: never go on a quest alone,” Galien reminded her. He risked a glance at her shoulder-length brown hair and her light clothes, which earned him an elbow from Vito.

“Like he said, Greye doesn’t want anyone going out alone. He only permitted this quest because it’s the three of us, and it’s a C-Rank dungeon,” Vito explained.

“Still, a C-Rank dungeon? You’re usually the type to go big. Even the receptionist was surprised. We expected at least a B-Rank quest.”

Vito shrugged. “I like to take it easy sometimes.” Kaelyn was still skeptical, but she was bored, and a quick dungeon quest sounded like fun.

The three stood outside a cave entrance. It was a two-hour walk from their hamlet. “According to those guild members, this dungeon was previously used by some thieves and dark adventurers as a hideout until the city guards got tired of dealing with complaints and arrested them all. The traps and a general lack of interest kept the guards from looking too deeply into this place.”

“Did you need at least one dungeon clear for something?” Kaelyn asked him with a look of genuine disinterest.

“We’ll find treasure here, isn’t that enough? Besides, Galien has been eager to try out his new sword.” Vito led the way into the cave. It didn’t appear very deep at all, and there were no signs of life, but it was all a ruse. Vito scouted the area earlier and discovered the means to gain access to the thieves’ domain. He relayed this information to Galien so he could impress their friend.

Galien awkwardly waved Kaelyn inside and followed after her. He then remembered that he was supposed to be in front and rushed ahead of Vito. “Hey, it’ll be fun. Who knows what we’ll find? Dungeons are called “dungeons” because they haven’t been fully explored, and the Adventurers' Association marked them as dangerous areas.”

“I understand. I just expected you to attempt a higher-ranked dungeon. It’s Vito’s first official exploration, after all,” Kaelyn explained.

Vito hid his grin as Galien pushed a switch to open the gates to the inner sections. “I left this entirely in his capable hands. He’s never led me astray once.”