Chapter One

“I wanna be an adventurer just like you one day!”

The clear voice rang out from the top of the tree he was climbing, followed by happy laughter. The sound filled the world in a joyful chorus. Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The scenery shifted from the welcoming forest to a lone stone near a cliffside. The same boy who had been laughing now stood atop the stone, striking his “heroic” pose.

“How about this one?”

I reached for the young boy in front of me, desperate to grab his shoulders. No matter how hard I tried, I was always a second too late. Again, I watched shadow cover him one moment and swallow him the next. The scene changed again, this time taking the form of my family home. A small bundle lay in what used to be my bed. His mother knelt by his side, gently stroking his bandaged head.

“You promised to protect him! You said he wouldn’t get hurt!”

“I... I’m sorry, bu—”

My hand reached out, but before I could make contact with the crying woman, I woke up and my arm now stretched into the empty air in front of me as tears welled in my eyes.

Been a while since I’ve had that dream.

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I sat up and took stock of my surroundings. The temporary campsite wasn’t too shabby, especially considering I had set it up in the dark. I had stumbled onto a small alcove beneath a giant tree, where the roots formed an entryway into a decent-sized hollow that someone had clearly dug out as a secret base.

Stumbling on this last night had been a sight for tired eyes. I didn’t waste a single second saying a quick thank-you prayer to Solus and Luna. After that, I did the bare minimum: laid out my sleeping bag and closed my eyes.

I yawned as I dug through my pack, looking for something to eat.

Thankfully, Barber is close by, as this is the last of my rations.

I placed the stick of dried meat in my mouth and ripped off a chunk. Then I packed away my sleeping bag, shouldered my pack with a grunt, and crawled out of the alcove. Once outside, I stood and stretched.

All around me, trees and sunlight stretched in every direction. Behind me, though, the forest seemed to grow more oppressive the deeper it went, its leafy canopy so thick even the sun seemed reluctant to enter.

I shook off the last bit of sleepiness and walked towards the light and warmth of the sun. Ahead lay the town of Barber, where I had accepted my most recent “Search” quest. People had been seeing and hearing odd things while going about their daily lives in the forest, and they wanted to know what was going on. That was where I stepped in. Thankfully, it had only been a magic beast migration: a bunch of magical beasts leaving the forest earlier than usual. The timing was odd, but no one had been hurt, and the beasts seemed to be sticking to their normal routes, or at least the routes given to me by the mayor of Barber.

Still, early migrations did not happen for no reason. Beasts ran from hunger, fire, stronger beasts, or things with enough magic to make their instincts scream. I had not found signs of any of those, and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

The town of Barber came into view after I left the forest behind and joined the other travellers on the road. Aside from a few “Heys” and “How are yas,” the return journey was uneventful. Before long, I reached the open gate, where two guardsmen flanked the entrance and gave me a simple nod as I showed the Adventurer Tag hanging from my neck.

My first task was to visit the local Adventurers Guild and hand in my Quest report. After that, it was off to the bathhouse for some much-needed relaxation. As I made my way to the town centre, the sounds of Barber washed over me. The market was in full swing, with prices and offers shouted from every direction. Greetings and gossip mixed in as mothers and housewives caught up with the local news. Once I rounded a corner, the laughter of children drifted from a small school where they were playing.

My previous night’s dream resurfaced for a fraction of a minute as I passed the playing children, tightening something in my chest. The feeling faded once I had walked away from the school, but not quickly enough for me to ignore it.

I’ll feel better once I’ve turned in the quest, had a bath, and eaten something decent. Yeah, real convincing, Bea.

I chuckled to myself as I approached the large building that served as both town inn and local Adventurers Guild. The well-maintained three-storey building sat near the centre of town and acted as the main meeting spot for adventurers before and after a job or quest. A few parties milled around outside, either waiting for members to join them or keeping an eye out for potential recruits.

The Guild took up roughly a third of the ground floor. A reception desk stood at the front, with a small collection of offices behind it, while benches and tables filled the open space in no particular order. The Quest and Job boards took centre stage, both covered in papers that easily drew the attention of passing adventurers.

“So, I know I’m relatively new, but I still don’t really understand the difference between a job and a quest. They seem to be relatively the same across the board.”

A young-looking girl with pointy ears asked her tall companion while holding up two slips of paper, comparing what was written on each.

“Well, the work itself tends to be similar. Sometimes, it can even be almost the same thing. A job is work we do in town. A quest means travelling to another area, and more often than not, camping along the way.”

His response brought a small smile to my face. It was almost perfect, and I felt the urge to complete his answer myself. Before I could, a third member of their group beat me to it.

“Also, keep in mind that the majority of quests will need a party to be completed, whereas jobs can be done solo.”

A stocky dwarf added, taking one of the papers from his elven party member and sticking it back on the Job board.

“That quest looks just about right for what we have. A C rank extermination quest to deal with some goblins that attacked a merchant’s caravan. I know you’re only a D rank Betty, but if I remember right, you should be close to a promotion exam. Do you think you are up for it?”

“Yeah! I am mo—”

The rest of her response was lost to me as I stepped away and headed for the reception desk. I gave the bell two quick dings.

“Hey, Mary, I’m back! Don’t you wanna know what I got you?”

“Hello, Beatrice. Good to see you back. How was the quest?”

“Well, it wasn’t too bad. Turns out the mayor was right for once, and it was a simple beast migration. Still don’t know why they decided to move a few weeks early. Most of the beasts have already left, so the local numbers should return to normal in the next day or so.”

“Well, that is great news! Don’t suppose you have some form of proof of this, do you?”

We made eye contact, and after a brief period of tension, we started to laugh.

“No. Funny enough, if I don’t kill or hurt a beast, it’s pretty hard to get proof. But how about on the honour of Beatrice, the S rank adventurer?”

“That I can do, Bea. Thank you for the help on this. I know it was technically a C rank quest, but we wanted someone we could trust to look out for themselves in case it went wrong.”

“No problem, Mary. You know I am always happy to help when I can. Thanks to my special S rank privileges, I can take pretty much any job or quest you need help with. Now, I will happily take this reward money and spend it on making myself feel more human again. It’s time for a bath.”

I picked up the coin pouch containing the twenty-five iron pieces that made up the reward for my “Search” quest. With the quest officially completed, it was time for food and a bath. I grabbed a quick lunch from the inn after booking my room, then sat down and savoured the cheese and fresh bread more than I expected. After finishing it off with a cool mug of ale, I happily sighed and made my way out of the building. On the way, I spotted the elf girl, Betty, and her party heading towards the town gate, or more accurately she was leading them to the town gate as she would dart ahead a few metres and then turn back to add her opinions on the conversation or even join in the laughter. Her long blonde hair seemed to have a life of it’s own as she darted and spun around. My hand reached up to the small bun on the top of my head and briefly came to a rest. Something about her long hair and the excess energy she had reminded me of the conversation I had overheard earlier in the day:

“You’re only a D rank, do you think you’re up for it?”

For some reason, this left me with a bittersweet feeling and I couldn’t help but silently root for them.