Boring exp farming.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of soft knocking pulled me from sleep.

"Hey, wake up, you two! Breakfast is ready!" Ruby's voice came from the other side of the door.

I ignored her, burying my face deeper into the pillow. One more hour. Just one more hour. That wasn't too much to ask, right?

Silence. Good. Maybe she'd given up. I let my eyes drift shut again.

"I'm coming in."

The door creaked open.

Still, I didn't move. I barely cared. Sleep was more important.

"Hey! Wake up! It's morning!"

Renia groaned beside me, voice muffled against the sheets. "Ugh. Shut up." She didn't even try to move.

Ruby let out a dramatic sigh. "Come on, it's a purrfect day!" Her footsteps approached the bed.

"Wake. Up." She said directly into my ear, her voice obnoxiously loud.

Then, the blanket was ripped away. Cold air hit me instantly.

"Ah! W-wait! Why are you half-naked, Renia!? I thought you were joking about yesterday!"

God. Can she be any less annoying?

I forced my eyes open and sat up, running a hand through my hair. "Let's have breakfast, Renia."

Renia groaned but slowly blinked awake. "Fine… if Rin says so."

"Happy now?" I turned to Ruby, standing up.

She was still frozen in place, mouth agape.

"Just put some clothes on next time!" she huffed, storming out.

Renia smirked lazily. "Renia should sleep like this every night if it keeps people away~."

I sighed. "Just get ready."

---

Breakfast was hearty, thick slices of buttered bread, eggs cooked just right, and some leftovers from yesterday. A solid start to the day.

Once everyone was done eating, we gathered around for the guild meeting.

"Now that we're all here, how should we split the group?" Elias, our guildmaster, leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

Since leveling up together as a full ten-member group wasn't efficient, we decided to split up again.

"I'm fine in any group," Ruby said with a shrug.

"Most of us are," Mila agreed. "Except Ren."

"How about three groups? Three-three-four? The weakest group gets an extra member," Etsu suggested, stretching lazily.

"And how do we decide who joins which group?" Elias asked. "Who's the strongest here?"

Mila thought for a moment. "Strongest? Probably Nova. Ruby's solid, Ren's strong too… and Rin did manage to take out 120 goblins."

That got a few glances.

Elias nodded. "So, June in group one with Renia, Mini in group two with Rin, and I'll go with Nova in group three?"

"What? Why am I not a leader?" Ruby pouted.

Not sure about the others, but I really didn't think she'd be fit for a leader.

"Denied. Renia stays with Rin." Renia crossed her arms.

Elias sighed, already expecting that answer. "Fine. Then Rin, Renia, and Mini in one group, Nova, Gyro, and me in another, and the rest in the last group?"

"Sounds fine," Mila said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Then something clicked in my head.

"Wait. Shouldn't we split based on class?" I asked. "What's everyone's class? I'm a mage, and she's an assassin." I gestured toward Renia.

I already knew Mila's and Renia's, but the others? Not really.

"Not sure about class, but I use a sword," Ruby said.

"I'm a warrior too!" Etsu grinned.

"Daggers." Nova's reply was short.

Like Renia, then.

"Me too!" Elias chimed in, sounding far too excited.

And him, apparently.

"I-I'm a tamer…" Gyro stuttered.

"I use magic," June added.

"Mini and I are healers," Mila said.

So, that meant we had two mages, two healers, three dagger users, two warriors, and a tamer. Not a bad balance, but not perfect either.

"With this setup, Rin's group will be mostly support-based, but with an assassin for direct combat," Elias mused. "That works. Gyro's group has me and Nova for offense, and the last group has both warriors."

I nodded. That seemed logical.

Renia, however, had a different priority. "Renia only cares that she is with Rin."

"Of course you do," Mila muttered, shaking her head.

---

With our groups settled, we headed for the Adventurer's Guild to pick up quests. The place was bustling, as always, newbies nervously scanning the request board, experienced adventurers bragging over drinks, and guild staff sorting through stacks of paperwork.

"You sure you're okay in our group?" I asked Mini.

She jolted slightly, then nodded. "Y-yes! I mean, I don't mind… if that's okay."

"Of course, it's okay!" Renia said, smiling in a way that didn't quite reach her eyes. "As long as Mini keeps her hands to herself."

Mini flinched.

I sighed. "Let's just focus on today's quest."

We walked up to the request board, where dozens of papers were pinned up, each listing different tasks, monster extermination, material gathering, even the occasional escort mission.

"Alright," Elias said, rubbing his hands together. "Since we're splitting up, we should take quests based on our strength."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

I scanned the board, my eyes landing on a Level 15-20 request.

Quest: "Eliminate the Forest Raiders"

Description: A group of well-equipped goblins has been attacking merchants near the Shadowpine Woods. Find and eliminate atleast 5 to complete the quest.

Reward: 1 silver per kill, 3 bonus silver coins every 10 kills.

That worked. It was tougher than a standard goblin hunt but nothing I couldn't handle.

"This one," I said, pulling the request from the board.

Mini peeked over my shoulder. "T-that's a harder quest…"

Well it was in the level 15 to 20 range so understandable. But should be fine if she stays close to Renia and me.

Renia smirked. "Perfect for Rin."

Meanwhile, the others picked their own.

"Gyro, Nova, and I will take this one," Elias said, holding up a paper. "We'll be hunting some Dire Wolves. Decent challenge, but not hard enough that we will hold back Nova."

"You sure as fuck will." Nova scoffed.

"Our team will take a standard goblin extermination quest," Mila said, glancing at Etsu and Ruby. "Low risk, good for leveling."

With our quests selected, we checked in with the guild receptionist, an older man with a tired look in his eyes. Different from the girl yesterday.

Elias clapped his hands. "Alright! Let's meet back here by sunset. Try not to die, yeah?"

"We should be the one telling you that." Ruby laughed.

After the paperwork was done, we left the guild and split up.

---

Asking around the guild, we managed to find the location of this Shadowpine woods.

The forest was dense and quiet, the thick canopy blocking out most of the midday sun.

"Rin, should Renia scout ahead?"

"Go ahead, but don't go too far."

"Okay~"

With that, she disappeared into the foliage. She is pretty damn good at sneaking around unfortunately. Speaking with experience.

Mini shifted nervously beside me. "S-she's really good at that…"

"Yeah." I scanned the area. "Stay close. We don't know what's out here yet."

"The request said the goblins were well-equipped," I murmured. "They won't be like the ones from before."

Mini, however, looked worried. "W-well-equipped how…?"

"Armor. Decent weapons. Maybe even tactics," I said. "It's not just a mindless horde."

Renia suddenly raised a hand, signaling us to stop.

"Three ahead," she whispered. "They haven't noticed us yet."

I peered through the trees.

Three goblins stood near a ruined wagon, looting what looked like a merchant's supplies. They were different from the usual ones, each wore bits of mismatched armor, and their weapons were sharper, better maintained. One even had a shortbow.

A ranged enemy. That could be a problem.

"We take out the archer first," I said.

Renia grinned. "Leave it to me."

She disappeared into the shadows.

I readied my staff, focusing on the two remaining goblins.

"Fireball."

A small fireball shot forward, striking one of them in the chest. It let out a shriek, stumbling back.

[You have killed an armored goblin lvl 20. Exp gained: 300]

A sharp thud.

The archer collapsed, Renia's dagger buried in its throat. When did she get this strong?

[You have killed an armored goblin lvl 20. Exp gained: 300]

Mini hesitated but then lifted her staff. "Bind!"

Glowing chains wrapped around the last goblin, holding it in place.

Renia finished it off with a clean strike.

[You have killed an armored goblin lvl 20. Exp gained: 300]

I exhaled. "Three down."

"More ahead," Renia whispered. "And they're prepared."

This was pretty easy compared to whatever I fought.

---

The last goblin fell to the ground with a thud, an ice spear pierced cleanly through its head. The clearing smelled of burnt flesh too. Gotta get used to this if I plan to continue using fire spells.

[Level: 19 | EXP: 350/2800]

[AP: 60 | SP: 40]

Renia stretched, cracking her neck. "Hmph. Too easy. Renia expected more." She sheathed her daggers with a flick of her wrists, looking almost disappointed.

"I-I thought we were going to die..." Mini muttered, clutching her staff tightly. She was still trembling, her face slightly pale.

"You healed us just fine," I said, dusting off my clothes. "You're getting used to it."

Mini looked down, mumbling, "I-I just did my job..."

Renia stepped closer to me and wrapped herself around my arm. "Renia thinks Rin was very cool."

"We should head back."

Mini nodded quickly, as she took a few steps ahead of us. She glanced over her shoulder and nearly tripped over a fallen goblin. I instinctively reached out, grabbing her wrist before she could fall face-first into the dirt.

"You okay?" I asked.

Mini's face turned beet red. "Y-yes! Sorry!" She yanked her hand back quickly.

Renia snatched my wrist and pulled me along with her. "Let's go, Rin."

There's no winning.

Mini hesitated before following, keeping just enough distance between her and Renia.

---

Back at the Adventurer's Guild, we reported our quest completion. The receptionist handed us a pouch just like yesterday. A bunch of silver coins.

Level 19. We hunted about 20 of those goblins. I am sure i'd level quite a decent amount if we weren't in a party. Still fine I guess.

Renia leaned against me, and clung to my arms once again. "Renia thinks Rin should get even stronger. Strong enough to protect Renia forever."

"Didn't you say you would be the one to protect me?" I replied.

"Too bad. Renia likes being spoiled sometimes."

Mini stood next to us somewhat awkwardly. I get her though.

"Why dont we head back to the guild first? I doubt I can do more."

Well, I could. But Mini probably couldn't.

"Y-yes that sounds great..." Mini nodded.

With Renia clinging to me, and Mini following next to us, we made our way out of the adventurer guild.

The sun was still strong. If I had to guess, I'd say it was around 2pm. Do we have clock here? Might wanna check that out.

Walking along the streets, I noticed Mini eyeing a small pouch of sweets at a vendor's stand from the corner of my eyes.

Poor girl, can't even say something when wants to eat something. Or maybe she doesn't and I am just overthinking.

"I want to eat something sweet all of a sudden," I said to save myself from the embarrassment if it turns out that I am overthinking.

I pulled Renia along with me and bought some sweets.

"Here," I said, shoving the pouch into her hands before she could refuse.

Mini froze. "Huh? What? I-"

"It's just candy," I said flatly. "You looked at it for a while and I'd feel bad eating alone."

Mini's face turned pink again, and she clutched the pouch like it was a precious treasure. Was she not allowed to eat sweets?

"T-thank you..."

Renia pouted. "Why does Mini get gifts? Where's Renia's? Unfair! Rin should spoil Renia more!" She clung to my arm dramatically.

"Sheesh I bought some for you too chill."

With that, we headed back to our guild.