The Strongest Guild!? The Crimson Crows!!

 "Crimson Sky!"

Francisco watched in astonishment as Rolo jumped nearly two stories high to deliver a devastating vertical slash against a harpy. The sword swing was visible and cracked the air. It drove a cut through the harpy and even separated the clouds above her. The financial advisor stood astonished as he stared at the red slice piercing the sky. When Rolo eliminated the goblins, Francisco didn't get much of a chance to see the attack fully.

His ears rang suddenly, and instinctively, he covered them. His face turned to the noise as he watched a harpy soaring toward him. Francisco eyed the sharp talons that lunged at him. He then watched as a thrown dagger struck the harpy's left wing, causing her to fly clumsily. Another dagger flew into her neck, dropping her to the ground next to Francisco.

"Stop getting distracted!" Ziv shouted. The man clad in leather armor rolled on the ground to dodge an incoming harpy. After he successfully evaded her, he flung two daggers into her backside and neutralized the threat.

"Sorry about that," Francisco yelled back. He began jumping on his toes, preparing for any incoming attacks. The financial advisor sincerely did not want to be a burden to these guys. At the same time, he was enjoying watching them battle. His eyes glanced at the confident mage.

Catherine held her hand forward. The temperature around her dropped as she materialized shards of ice from her hand. They cut through the air faster than Ziv's daggers and landed on two harpies. The two harpies began to feel their bodies stiffen as their wings were encased in ice, forcing them to land on the ground. Garwood took a greatsword, dispatching the winged monsters with heavy strikes.

"These guys are really cool," Francisco gulped. Watching these heroes in action created doubts in his mind. How was he ever going to survive being an adventurer? Seeing these four adventurers perform, he knew deep down they didn't have to worry about money. They moved confidently and were all in peak physical shape. They must eat warm meals every day and rest in a comfortable bed. Francisco wished he had this kind of financial security as an adventurer. The financial advisor watched Rolo decapitate the last harpy as he kept doubting himself.

"Jeez, my legs don't work like they used to," Rolo chuckled. "I swear I could jump higher back in my prime."

"I wouldn't overdo it too much, Captain. You're not aging gracefully," Catherine smiled warmly.

"Ain't that the truth. Ziv, do you got the talons? Unity will be needing about fifty of them for us to be rewarded," Rolo called out.

Ziv busily started grabbing some of his lost daggers from the harpy corpses. He threw a thumbs-up. "I'm already on it," he groaned, shaving the claws off with his daggers.

Francisco sighed, not feeling particularly useful at the moment. His thought was broken once he felt a hard smack against the center of his back.

"You doing okay, lad?" Garwood asked. "We didn't really have time for introductions. My name is Garwood Weaponsman, my friends call me Gar," the blonde dwarf showed a large grin.

"Oh, my name is Francisco Lincoln Alvear. 'Weaponsman,' huh? That's an interesting last name," the financial advisor politely held out his hand.

"I didn't really have a surname, so I gave myself one! I think it fits me perfectly like a fine glove," Garwood chuckled. He glanced at Francisco's empty hand. Spitting onto his palm, he gave Francisco's hand a mighty shake.

Francisco stared at him, baffled, as his hand was released. The wet saliva dripped from his hand. He waved his hand and let the rest of the spit fall. "Why did you do that?"

"That's how real men shake hands, lad," Garwood chuckled, his belly shaking from his hearty laugh.

"I will keep that in mind," he nodded, wiping his hand against his sleeve.

"That's the attitude, lad! We have about four more quests to finish before we call it a day. You can handle it, right?"

"Yeah, the bags aren't too heavy. You guys are really powerful," Francisco admitted. "I couldn't even fight five goblins."

"No good in comparing yourself to others. We all improve at our own paces. Take Ziv, for example," Gar pointed to the cloaked man cutting up harpy talons. "He's still working on his strength. Hell, he could barely lift a shortsword when I first met him."

"I can hear you!" Ziv called out. The man wiped his daggers on the harpy's feathers before walking over to the conversation. "I don't need to handle a sword. My daggers do the job just fine. Thank you." He squinted his eyes at the dwarven warrior before meeting eyes with the financial advisor. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Francisco. My full name is Ziv Shadowstep. Much like our hearty dwarf here, I also chose my surname so-"

Ziv suddenly gagged and pinched his nose. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Please tell me you didn't spit in your hand. That's incredibly barbaric," Ziv complained. "I can smell your breath over the harpys."

"It's not that bad," Gardwood mumbled.

"Hey, are we doing introductions now?" The blonde mage yelled out, doing a quick jog to the group. She smiled nonchalantly while glancing at the three men. A few seconds of silence passed before awkwardness started to settle in.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Ziv questioned, his eyes shifting to the side.

"I'm waiting for you or Garwood to introduce me," Catherine spoke blankly.

"You can introduce yourself! Are you mad?!" Ziv yelled.

"Where are your manners? I shouldn't have to introduce myself!"

"I swear, 'noble elves' are the worst. Okay, Franky. This beautiful, talented blonde mage is named Catherine Rosen from the Rosen family," Ziv gestured his hands as Catherine stood proud and pleased. "But be wary, she's a tad stuck-up."

"What? Ugh, you act like you're not an elf either!" Catherine kicked the back of his leg and started grabbing his clothing.

"I'm only half-elf!" Ziv shouted, trying to step away from the angry elven woman.

"But you're fully a pain!"

"That's a good one! A full pain in the ass!" Garwood laughed heavily, slapping his knee.

Francisco slightly chuckled; he was intrigued by the different personalities of the members. "How did you guys meet?" He asked curiously.

All three members stopped their fidgeting and answered in unison: "We're part of a guild."

"A guild?" Francisco asked. Just then, another smack was felt against his back. This pat on the back had forced him to take several steps forward. This time, it was from Rolo who had snuck into the conversation.

"That's right. You are looking at the four core members of the Crimson Crows. A strong, heroic guild! They might look like jerks, but these three have good hearts," Rolo complimented. "I'm kidding, guys."

Francisco widened his eyes at the fact. He remembered seeing the guild hall in town. He didn't have much in the way of credentials as an adventurer to be accepted into a guild or start his own. The financial advisor considered the four heroes to be just a random party hastily put together. Now that he learned that they were a guild, he respected them a lot more.

"Wow, that's amazing! You guys must be well-known in the city!" Francisco recalled several guild names carrying some depth in the city. Perhaps Crimson Crows received a lot of recognition due to their strength.

"Not really, we're ranked 39 in the city," Rolo nodded.

"I'm sorry. I think I heard you wrong. Did you say 'rank 39?"

"Yep, rank 39," Rolo answered back with a smile. "Alright, time for the next quest!"