"Hachoo!"
"What the hell? I've been sneezing nonstop."
"I'm sure you just got some dust up your nose." Sylvie handed a tissue to me.
"Thanks."
Sylvie and I were carrying some bags full of different types of bread and walking up the main street.
"So, Sylvie, I heard Cider is close to being a 7-star."
"He is. What about it?"
"It's just that all of you have improved so much. I'll have to catch up."
"Yeah, sure. Good luck with that."
This girl has no hope in me.
"You're brutal, you know that?"
"I don't."
Geez, does she have to be like that? Well, I'll annoy her with demons.
"Any news about demons, Sylvie?"
"Why would there be news? Demons have been gone for thousands of years. You think they'll come back out of nowhere?"
"I don't know. It's just that I've heard rumors about a cult trying to summon them."
"The only person who has heard those rumors is you."
"Really? Am I the only person who cares about demons anymore?"
"Yes."
Well, guess she is right about that. I need to focus more on my guild rather than demons.
My guild, Cadmus, is the second strongest guild in the lower district, first being Agni. Cadmus is a guild that's been around for hundreds of years, like most of the guilds today. And I'm a second star adventure in camdus. Still have a long way to go.
"Zeclierz! Zeclierz!" I heard Sylvie talking to me.
"Huh? What?"
"You zoned out," Sylvie said.
"Oh, my bad."
Sylvie looked at me. no, that's not the right word. She stared into my eyes. Then she started speaking.
"That's a bad habit of yours. Come on, let's go, or Master's gonna scold us."
"My bad."
Sylvie has always been with me. Ever since we were kids. She, Leon, me and cider have always had alot of fun messing around at the guild.
"Hey, Sylvie."
"Yes?" Sylvie looked at me while we were walking.
I thought of saying something, but I changed my mind and said something else. "Are there any new quests in the guild?"
"There's a quest for hunting a bear near the farm south of the elm forest. Even you can take that quest on."
"Ouch. Even me, huh? I'll look into it. Thanks for telling me."
Sylvie's face remained unchanged. "You know? I think the bear might be too much."
After a while, the two of us arrived at Cadmus.
---
"I don't know why we didn't use Sylvie's magic. We would've gotten here faster if we just used wind magic," I said in a low voice.
"I heard that." Sylvie always had good hearing.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just head in."
As we entered inside, we found the guild members sitting on tables, drinking and hanging out.
"HEY, EVERYONE!" A man shouted. "Sylvie came back with the goods, and it looks like she found a stray dog on the way."
"Who are you calling a stray dog, you lizard?" I shouted back at Michael. He's the guild's organizer. He brings the quests from clients and posts them up on the board.
"Oh, that's you, Zeclierz? I thought you were a dog for a second. It's hard to find the difference." Michael said while laughing. The rest of the guild burst into laughter, but that laughter was quickly silenced.
A hand grabbed Michael's head.
"The only dog here is you, Michael." Michael was lifted up in the air.
"I WAS JOKING, I SWEAR!" Michael said, panicking. "You know I love Zeclierz, right, Leon?"
"Too late." Leon threw Michael across the room.
"Ahhhhhhhhhuhhh fuck, LEON, YOU PIECE OF SHI—" Before Michael could continue his sentence, he hit the wall.
Jeez, I forget Leon didn't like people disrespecting other guild members.
"Zeclierz, how've you been?" After throwing Michael, he approached me and grabbed my shoulder.
"I've been good, Leon. And it looks like you're the same."
Leon has always been like a big brother to me, Cider, Sylvie, and my two younger siblings. So we all have a ton of respect for him.
"Yeah, I was lucky and found the ring pretty quickly. Can you believe it?"
"Considering they were saying it would be a two-week mission, yeah, you were lucky as hell."
Leon sat down on one of the chairs. "Give me some of that bread." Leon pointed his finger at the bag in my arms.
"Oh, yeah, for sure. Here." I took out some bread and gave it to Leon.
"It's still warm, but I like warmer." Leon then used some fire magic and heated up the bread. After heating it up, he took a bite out of it. "This stuff's always good," Leon said while chewing on the bread.
"Leon, how many times have I told you, don't speak while eating." That voice belonged to Cider. I looked back and saw him enter through the gate.
"I'm not a noble, so don't order me around, Cider."
"Meh, who am I kidding? Eat however you want. Doesn't matter to me." Cider lifted up his hands like he admitted defeat, then sat down next to Leon.
Cider has green hair, which is something I've never seen before. He says it's natural, but I don't know. He's about as tall as Leon, like six feet or something.
"While you guys clown around, I'll just take the bread to the back." Sylvie said, speaking to Leon and Cider.
"Yo, Sylvie, cute outfit." Cider told her.
She ignored him and walked away with the bags.
"Damn, bitch ignoring me like that. Oh, it's you, Zeclierz. What's up?"
That was a fast mood change.
"Hey, Cider. Nothing much, just came to look for a quest. What about you?"
"I'm here for a job too. I heard there's going to be one for hunting a crimson wolf."
"A crimson wolf? Those are considered 7-star monsters." Is he already...
"Are you a 7-star now?" I asked Cider.
"Yup, just got it certified yesterday. Now I'm at the same level as this douchebag." He pointed at Leon next to him.
"Keep up the good work, Cider. I want you to become stronger than me." Leon said while looking at Cider directly.
Cider got a chill. "Hah, me getting stronger than you? That's a big dream, considering you're getting stronger every day."
"What about you, Zeclierz? Have you been keeping up with your training?" Leon asked me.
If I had been training? I am training. But I'll have to train harder if I want to get stronger. This current training isn't cutting it.
"Yeah, Leon, I've been hard at training." I sat down next to them.
"Good to hear." Leon took another bite of his bread.
After chatting for a bit, Cider suggested something. "Yo, Leon, let's head out to town for a bit. There's something I wanna do."
"Alright, but what are we doing?"
"You'll know when we get there."
"Yo, can I come?" I asked the two.
"Hey, sorry, Zeclierz, but it's kind of a 5-star-ranked-or-higher thing. So come back when you're at that level."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
As Cider and Leon prepped their stuff, Sylvie came back from the storage room.
"Where are you guys going?" Sylvie asked the two clowns in front of her. Or that's what she probably thinks of them.
"Me and Leon are going to town to do something."
"That being?" Sylvie asked another question.
"Jeez syilve none of you business." Cider quickly ignored her question and left with Leon.
"Hope those idiots don't cause any trouble." It was Master's voice.
I turned around and saw the old man with the pink hair and weird eyes.
"Zeclierz, it's good to see you."
"You too, Master. How are you doing these days?"
"I'm doing well, except for complaints from people about Leon and Cider destroying things. I can't argue much because they always pay for the damages. But still, it's annoying getting the complaints."
"That's how they are, Master." Sylvie said to Master.
"You're certainly right about that, Sylvie. But the problem is, Leon is a smart one. But when he hangs out with that idiot Cider, he gets stupid."
I joined in with the insulting. "They both become idiots when they are with each other. Which is weird, because they both are the smartest in our guild."
"That's how it is, Zeclierz. When you always hang out with a really close friend, you just lose all your brain and just have fun. But not to their degree. You and Sylvie are close, I'd say, but you don't get stupider around each other. I wonder why that is."
"Not everyone is like Leon and Cider, Master." Sylvie talked first.
"Ahahahaha, yeah, you're right. Those idiots are probably the only ones who get like that."
Master then looks at me. "So zeclierz, I've heard from your father you wanted something from me?"
Really dad you already told him? When did he have time to meet him anyway? "Yea, I want to train in the suth Forest for a month."
Both Sylvie and Master looked at me in surprise—well, except maybe Sylvie. She just looked at me.
"Why in the world do you want to stay in the forest for a month?" Master asked me.
"I want to train in the Suth Forest. That's why."
"But why there?"
"I just want to." The real reason is because I heard that there was a weird sighting in the suth Forest a few days ago. Who knows? That Might be a demon! But I obviously can't tell that to master he'll say no.
Master looked at me for a bit, then started speaking. "Hmmm, fine. I allow it."
Sylvie looked at Master, puzzled. "You're really allowing him to do that?"
"I don't see why not, Sylvie. If the boy wants to train, then he can do that."
"But the forest—"
"Are you that worried about him? Don't worry, he won't get hurt. There aren't any strong monsters in the forest. I just checked, and the whole area is safe, so he can go train there."
"NICE! Thanks, Master. My dad said if I get permission from you, then I can go."
"Just be careful, Zeclierz. Even though I said it's safe, you still can't let your guard down."
"I know that. You think I've been here at the guild all this time for nothing?"
"Haha, of course not."
Sylvie grabbed Master, and they went a bit far from me.
"Master! You know he won't get much stronger than he already is. Just tell him that it's dangerous."
"You think he doesn't know that? He knows it's dangerous, but that's the point of training, Sylvie. You push yourself to the limits."
Sylvie stayed silent.
Master walked up to me. "You're free to go whenever you want, but promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise, Master."
Master looked at me straight in the eyes. "Well then, I'll be heading out. I have a meeting I need to attend.
"Alright, see you in a month, Master."
Master headed to the meeting in the king's castle. It's in the middle of the kingdom.
Sylvie came up to me. "See you in a month, then." Then she left.
"Bye, Sylvie. Watch yourself."
Now, what do I need to take with me? I need a map, and some gear. Let's head to the market.