Idk

Another day, another quest. This time, we shuffled our party members to get used to working with different people.

My group consisted of Nova, Gyro, and me. Renia, surprisingly, listened to Mila for once, so she went with her sister.

Our mission? Exterminate elemental wolves. Three packs had been fighting each other, wreaking havoc on their surroundings.

I glanced back at my party. "Ready?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Gyro stammered, giving me an awkward salute.

What?

"Just lead the way," Nova said, arms crossed, already looking bored.

I turned and started walking, hoping I wouldn't get us lost in some faraway. I sucked at directions, but fine, I guess.

Brighthollow Village was an hour north of the town square.

Walking sucked.

"Gyro, how does taming work?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"You have to defeat a monster to tame it. Or if you're naturally stronger than it…" he mumbled.

Boring. But if a weak tamer lands the final blow on a strong monster, would they still get control over it?

"Do you have any tamed beasts?" Maybe he had something useful for travel.

"I-I do, but… it's just a little bunny…"

That wasn't going to help anyone.

"Any other skills?"

"Y-yes! I have some s-support skills…"

Good enough, I guess.

With the important questions out of the way, silence settled in again. The only sounds were the occasional footsteps and murmurs of passersby.

I hated that I was the most social one here.

"A-anyway, how are you both liking the guild?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's fine, I guess," Nova said flatly. "Not exactly thrilling."

"I-I love it!" Gyro brightened. "It reminds me of my family…"

At least one of them was happy. As for me, I agreed with Nova.

"Why'd you two join, anyway?" I already had my guesses, but I asked anyway.

"You all seemed like good people," Gyro said.

Too trusting. Then again, Etsu and Elias were just goofy idiots. Or was I the idiot for trusting them?

"Felt like it," Nova said. "And I got separated from my twin sister."

"I hope she's safe." Must suck to lose family.

"I don't really care."

I frowned. "Why?"

"None of your business." Her tone was sharp.

"Fair. My bad."

That killed the conversation. No point forcing it.

---

We walked for about forty minutes. We had to be close.

I expected dense forest, but instead, the landscape opened up into a clearing dotted with trees and long bushes. It was… beautiful, in a way.

"Umm… s-sir?" Gyro muttered behind me. "Can you tell me about yourself? I feel like I know very little about you…"

He was trying to make conversation. That was nice.

"What do you want to know?"

"Do you have any hobbies? Something you enjoy?"

"Sleeping," I answered. "Besides that, I've tried a lot of things. Got half-decent at them. Then got bored."

"I see… Do you miss your parents?"

I hesitated. Ugh. No, I didn't. They could drop dead, and I wouldn't care. Actually, maybe I'd react a little.

"A-are they… Ah! I'm so sorry!" Gyro yelped.

"They're not dead," I said. "They exist, but not for me. You get me?"

"I-I see… I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing."

"Y-yes! I am s— I mean, yeah…"

Silence.

"You can ask more if you're curious. Nova, you too," I said.

"Uh…" Nova muttered, thinking. "Never mind, I'm good."

"T-then, is Miss Renia your girlfriend?" Gyro asked.

"What, you trying to hit on her?" I joked.

"I-I wouldn't dare!" he squeaked. "It's just, you keep denying it, but you share a room and you're really affectionate—"

"Relax. I was joking," I said. "And no, she's not my girlfriend. But I care about her a lot." More than anyone, honestly.

"I-I see… Do you see her as a friend? Or a sister?"

"A little more than that, I guess?"

"D-do you ever plan to d-date her?"

…I felt like Renia herself was feeding him these questions.

"Did she threaten you to ask this?"

"N-no! I was just curious! Just curious!"

"Sure. And I dunno. Maybe."

"Th-then, what would it take for you to date her?"

Yeah, okay. That confirmed it.

"I stopped answering questions five minutes ago."

"O-oh…"

I sighed. Wish I had siblings like Mini or Gyro. That would've been fun.

Then—

"Careful, Serenya!" a voice shouted from nearby.

A body crashed into a tree beside us.

Before we could process what happened, a massive green figure barreled out of the forest.

[Skill activated: Basic Analysis]

Name: Orc

Level: 25

HP: 700/1500

"Clara!" Another figure sprinted after the orc. A girl with long raven hair, dressed in what screamed royalty. An elf.

"You brute!" she yelled, extending a hand. A magic circle flared to life in her palm.

"Should we help? Your call," Nova said, arms crossed.

Helping, huh? Having someone owe you a favor wasn't bad. And I didn't really mind saving a life as long as I wasn't at risk.

"I think we should," I said.

The orc roared and charged at the elf. She wouldn't finish her spell in time.

And I wasn't about to watch someone die.

I summoned my staff, and three sharp ice shards materialized above me before launching forward. They pierced the orc's thick skin.

[-5 MP | -200 HP]

…Not bad. An A-tier affinity was pulling its weight.

Anyways, the shards staggered the orc just enough for Nova to close the distance.

"Battle Insight! Vital Surge! Steady Hands! Bolster! Swiftfoot!" Gyro muttered, pointing at Nova as he rapidly activated his skills.

I blinked. That's... a lot of buffs.

Nova slashed upward, her blade biting into the orc's thick arm. It growled, raising a fist to slam down at her, but she dodged with a nimble step, launching a dagger at its eye mid-air. The orc's sluggish arm couldn't react fast enough, its clawed fingers swiped at nothing as the blade found its mark.

The dagger pierced deep, then exploded, sending the orc screaming with a guttural roar.

The elf woman, who had been frozen in shock, finally snapped out of it. A golden magic circle formed in her palm, and a concentrated beam of light shot forward, searing through the orc's side.

Nova took the opportunity. She dashed forward and drove her dagger into its thick neck. A spray of green liquid splattered onto the dirt as the beast let out a final, gurgling breath before going limp.

[EXP Gained: 1000]

[EXP: 1350/2800]

Atta girl. Free EXP is free EXP.

"Clara! Are you alright?" The elf woman shouted as she rushed toward the girl who had been thrown earlier.

"Let's check on them," I said, already walking over.

Gyro nodded, hurrying after me.

The injured girl, Clara, had blood trickling from her nose and mouth. She groaned weakly as the elf woman knelt beside her, casting a healing spell.

"Gyro, you got a healing spell?" I asked.

He nodded and stretched out his hand, channeling soft green light. I followed suit, pointing my staff at her and casting Minor Heal. The blood faded from Clara's face, and color returned to her skin.

Her eyelids fluttered open. She blinked. "Serenya…? Who are all these people?"

She sat up abruptly, scanning her surroundings. "Where's the orc?!"

"It's dead," the elf, Serenya replied with a relieved sigh. "These kind individuals helped us out."

Clara exhaled and turned to us, bowing slightly. "Thank you for saving us."

Nova scoffed. "Whatever."

Gyro gave a small nod, avoiding eye contact.

"It's no problem," I said. "Wouldn't sit right with me if someone died in front of me."

Clara pushed herself to her feet, brushing dirt off her clothes. "I'm Clara, a member of the Etherbinders. I really appreciate the help."

Serenya straightened, looking composed despite her earlier panic. "I am Serenya Silverwind, also from Etherbinders. We owe you one."

Damn, so dignified. Makes me feel like an uncivilized monkey.

"Rin," I introduced myself, keeping it short. I don't do surnames.

"Nova," she said simply, arms crossed again.

"I-I'm Gyro Ashford. Nice to meet you!" He gave an awkward bow.

"So," I asked, "what were you doing out here?"

Clara sighed. "We were hunting goblins when we got separated from our group. Then that orc showed up…"

"Unlucky."

"What about you guys?" she asked.

"We were on our way to complete a quest," I replied.

"Ah, I see. Well, we won't hold you up. If you ever need help, look for me at Etherbinders," Clara offered.

Serenya nodded. "You've done us a great favor. We won't forget it."

I will remember it.

"Alright. Stay safe," I said, gesturing for my group to move.

As we walked away, I glanced at my teammates. "Good job, you two. You fought well."

Gyro's face lit up. "T-thank you!"

Nova... didn't react.

Fine, be that way.

Now, back to our actual quest.

---

"Huff… Huff… Gyro, get the fuck out of the way!" Nova shouted as a wolf covered in flames lunged at him.

"Ahhh!" Gyro yelped, squeezing his eyes shut.

Well, good thing for him, I was still in the game. I flicked my wrist, and a violent gust knocked the wolf back straight into Nova's path.

She took the opening without hesitation, slashing in a blur of silver.

[EXP Gained: 450]

[Level: 20 | EXP: 2700/3000]

[AP: 65 | SP: 50]

These wolves were no joke. Fast, coordinated, and annoyingly persistent. Taking on two packs at once wasn't the best idea.

"Good work. Let's take a break before we go after the last pack," I said, plopping down on a nearby rock.

The others followed suit, catching their breath.

Now, time to allocate my points before I forget.

40 into Intelligence, 10 into Agility, 8 into Endurance, 7 into Dexterity. I'd keep the SP for later.

With that, my updated status:

[Character Status]

Name: Rin

Level: 20

Class: Mage

Health: 300/300

Mana: 350/350

Stamina: 100/100

Attributes:

Dexterity: 21

Strength: 10

Agility: 24

Intelligence: 70

Endurance: 20

Abilities:

[Basic analysis]

Rarity: F

Type: Active

Description: Allows the user to check monsters and creatures Lvl and HP.

[Mana Reflux]

Rarity: B

Type: Active

Cooldown: 5 min

Description: Allows the user to recover 50% of the mana used if used within 10 seconds of casting a skill.

[Tier 1 Magic skills]

Fireball - Lvl 5

Minor Heal - Lvl 1

Arcane Shield - Lvl 5

Ice shards - Lvl 5

Whirlwind - Lvl 4

Minor earthquake - Lvl 5

[Tier 2 Magic skills]

Ice spears - Lvl 5

Earth Wall - lvl 1

Not bad. Renia's gifted artifact really made a difference on my HP. I glanced at the ring on my finger. Bet a tank would kill for something like this.

---

A fireball roared through the air, slamming into the last wolf. Its partially melted ice armor cracked before shattering completely. The beast fell to the ground, burned and lifeless.

[EXP Gained: 200]

[Level: 21 | EXP: 500/3300]

[AP: 5 | SP: 60]

"Phew. Last one down." I exhaled and collapsed onto the grass. My limbs ached.

Damn, goblins were way easier than these mutts.

I just wanted a cold shower and something to drink.

Nova stepped up, standing over me.

I looked up. "What?"

She tilted her head. "I killed three of them."

…Okay? Flexing on me now?

"Yeah, good work. Couldn't have won without you," I said honestly.

She nodded, satisfied, and walked off.

Well, alright then.

After resting a bit, we turned in the quest and headed home. The passing days would be more grinding to say the least.