Stone and The Broken Staff

The giant man’s foot crashed into the stone wall, slowing him down just enough for the man on the ground to roll out of the way.

“Who dares mess with Stone!” The giant man’s eyes swept the room before narrowing on Gwen. “You, little girl, unless you want an issue with Stone, I suggest you leave.”

Gwen tilted her head. “I don’t care what this man’s done, but you can’t just attack people in public.”

The few adventurers in the room gasped, staring at her like she was crazy. Out of the corner of her eye, Mel motioned for her to back down, but she ignored it.

Stone’s lips curled back in a snarl. “Last chance to leave, little girl, before we have a problem.”

“I already told you, Stone, I wasn’t the one who…” the blonde-haired man started.

Bang

Stone punched him in the face, cutting off his words. The man crashed into the wall, leaving a dent as he dropped to the ground. He lay there, not moving.

Gwen gave a small smile. “Hey, are you done yet, ugly?” I want to finish my business at the guild without you causing a ruckus.

Stone's eyes locked on Gwen, and he let out a small growl.

“Hey, Gwen, what are you doing?” Chris whispered into her ear. “Ignore him so we can-“

“Enough!” Stone roared, cutting off their conversation. He slammed his hand into the ground, a brown light forming around his arm as the flooring cracked and broke. He pulled a giant rock free and launched it.

The room gasped as the stone ball sped toward Gwen.

Gwen channeled magic while stepping in front of Chris. Pouring everything she could muster, she took over Stone’s spell. The giant ball of earth broke apart, tiny pieces falling harmlessly at her feet.

I guess what the old priest was saying about imagination playing a big part was important.

A moment after the stone broke apart, exhaustion suddenly hit. Her magic reserves took a sharp dive, and sweat started to build on her forehead.

Before she could recover, a shadow fell over her face. Stone was already on her, fist wrapped in rock, punching straight for her. Chris yanked Gwen back and brought his shield up.

Bang

Chris’s shield dented, but held against Stone’s powerful blow.

Gwen jabbed her staff forward. A rock fired out, catching the giant man in the stomach. He staggered back, panting.

Swinging her staff, a rock shot up from the ground, striking Stone in the jaw. His head snapped back, blood spraying through the air. Gwen spun, dragging her staff along the floor, and another rock emerged.

Before it could land, Stone roared and stomped his foot. The rock shattered into sharp shards. He jabbed forward, sending them flying at Gwen.

Chris blocked the shards and spun, releasing his shield at the man.

Stone didn’t have a chance to dodge before the shield bounced off his head. The strike stunned him—his eyes glazed over as he dropped to one knee.

Gwen rushed forward, rock clinging to her staff. She swung with all her might and the stone end connected with the giant man’s jaw, sending him rolling across the ground.

She stood there breathing rapidly. She waited for the man to rise, but when Stone didn’t, she relaxed. Taking a deep breath, Gwen stood up straight, wiping sweat from her brow.

She went to move her staff when it suddenly snapped into three parts, dropping out of her hand.

Of course, my weapon would choose now to break. She sighed, staring at the ground.

Gwen grabbed Chris’s shield from the floor and turned around. Every eye in the room stared at her. The adventurers waited in a tense silence as she walked forward.

“Here’s your shield; sorry that it got damaged helping me.”

“Meh, it's fine, though next time, let’s try not to get into a fight with an angry person.” Chris joked, taking the shield.

Gwen smirked. “I only promise not to start it.”

Chris shook his head.

The surrounding crowd started to grow louder, as people spoke excitedly about the fight.

“The duke’s daughter being able to overpower a C-Rank adventurer is something I didn’t think I’d see today.”

“Stone wasn’t using his full strength; he could’ve caused earthquakes if he wanted to.”

“That’s true, but it’s his fault for taking Gwen lightly because she is a D-Rank adventurer.”

Gwen’s face flushed red as the conversation grew louder. Ugh, why are people always so fickle? One moment they curse my name behind my back, the next they get excited over a small fight.

She didn’t know if it was because this was an anime world, but people here were crappy. To be fair, it wasn’t much different from how her world acted, especially on the internet. People just suck everywhere.

Chris said, breaking her musing, “A new chapter adds to the ever-growing legend of Gwen, the fallen noble turned grand adventurer.”

“Ugh, don’t start with me right now,” Gwen replied, throwing her hands up in the air.

Chris gave her a cheeky grin but kept quiet.

Gwen took a couple of deep breaths, then turned to see Mel making her way over.

“Sorry… for taking so long,” Mel gasped, bending over to catch her breath. “I went to find a guard.”

Gwen patted her head lightly. “Thanks for trying to help, but as you can see, we handled it.”

Mel stood up straight, biting the top of her lip. “If you don’t mind talking to the guards, that'll be a big help.”

Gwen hesitated, and not on her lips. One look from Mel’s eyes changed her expression, and she nodded her head yes.

Without another word, Mel hurriedly led them further into the building, up a set of stairs. A few minutes later, they found an empty room with two couches and a table in the middle.

“You guys wait here. I’m going to kick everyone out and lock up.” Before Gwen could say anything, Mel was already out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Huh, I didn’t know this guild had private rooms for meetings. Gwen looked around, but didn’t see anything of note. She turned to Chris, whose eyes were glazed over and his cheeks slightly red.

“Are you okay?”

Chris jumped at the sudden noise. “I-I'm fine,” he stuttered, eyes shifting.

“Right. Well, just try to relax. We’ll probably be here for a while, so hopefully, your blacksmith friend won’t be too mad if we’re late.”

“It won’t be a problem,” he replied, but his voice sounded off.

Gwen shrugged, then leaned back on the couch and relaxed. Chris closed his eyes, and soon soft snores came from his direction. Time passed slowly in this manner until the door opened, and two guards walked in, followed by Mel.

Much to her surprise, the blonde-haired man she had helped stood behind Mel. The swelling on his face lowered some of the charm he once had, and the dents appeared on pieces of his armor. The guards stepped aside, allowing Mel and the blonde-haired man to sit down across from her and Chris.

The blonde-haired man locked on to Gwen, a nd he bowed deeply. “I’m sorry you got caught up in my issue with Stone. As thanks for the help, I'll pay for you to get a new staff.”

Gwen blinked. Great, I regret helping out this weirdo… thought I needed a new staff.