"Alright, results are in."
The instructor handed them stamped forms to bring back to the counter.
When they returned, the receptionist greeted them with the sa professional smile, though her eyes lingered on Isolde a little longer — clearly still impressed.
"Congratulations! You are now officially adventurers," she said brightly, taking their forms and processing them. She handed each of them a polished tal card, freshly engraved.
Oliver turned his over curiously. The bronze card was cool in his hand, smooth but solid.
[Valebridge Adventurers Guild]
Na: Oliver Shaw
Rank: D
Quests Completed: 0
"D-Rank?" he asked, a little deflated.
"Yes," she said, smiling gently, clearly used to this reaction. "You’ve got better-than-average combat instincts and solid stamina. Your mana might be E-rank, but your physical ability makes up for it. Starting rank: D is common for new registrants. Complete enough quests, and you can rise in rank. Higher ranks an more difficult jobs and better pay."
Oliver nodded, satisfied.
Then the receptionist turned to Isolde and placed a golden card on the counter.
[Valebridge Adventurers Guild]
Na: Isolde
Rank: S
Quests Completed: 0
There was a collective intake of breath from the adventurers loitering nearby.
"S-rank right from registration..."
"Damn, we’ve got a monster in town."
"Lucky bastard, that guy’s in her party..."
Oliver grinned and shot Isolde a sideways look. "Well, guess I’m officially your underling now."
Isolde smirked as she clipped her golden tag to her belt. "Don’t worry, master. I’ll let you bask in my glory."
Oliver rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at his lips.
He glanced back at the receptionist, reading her naplate — Lena — and said, "So, Lena, could you recomnd us so suitable quests to start our adventurer journey?"
"Of course," Lena said brightly. "Technically, with an S-class mber in your party, you could take missions up to S-class. But since this is your first quest, I’d recomnd starting with a B or C-class job. Sothing simple but rewarding."
"That sounds good," Oliver agreed. "But... it should have decent pay. We did just register, after all."
Lena chuckled softly. "Fair enough. Give a mont."
She bent down behind the counter, rummaging through a set of drawers. The motion caused her low-cut blouse to dip, her generous cleavage practically spilling forward over the polished wood.
Oliver’s eyes widened instinctively — he quickly averted them, cheeks heating, but not before he caught a whiff of her faint floral perfu.
The group of male adventurers sitting nearby, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop, all turned their heads in unison.
"Oi, look at that view..." one whispered.
"Lucky bastards up front..." another muttered.
When Lena straightened, papers in hand, she blinked in confusion at the sudden shift of attention. "Huh? Is sothing wrong?"
A chorus of fake coughing echoed across the hall as the n all quickly turned away, pretending to study the quest board.
"n," Isolde muttered with a roll of her eyes, clicking her tongue.
Oliver stifled a laugh.
Seeing that the mont had passed, Lena spread the papers across the counter, arranging several parchnt notices in a neat fan.
"These are all suitable for new adventurers," she said, tapping the first few with her fingertip.
"This one is a simple delivery job to a nearby village — low risk, decent pay. This one is for gathering dicinal herbs in the forest. And this one here is goblin subjugation, as I ntioned earlier — fairly common but good for cutting your teeth."
Then she pulled out two more sheets from a separate pile and laid them down with a slightly more serious expression.
"These are a bit more challenging."
She pointed to one of them first.
"This is a beast-material collection request. A local alchemist needs the hide and fangs of the ’Ashfang Serpent’ — a D-class demonic beast that lurks in the southern dungeon’s second floor. Risk is moderate, but you’ll have to deal with a confined space and possible ambushes."
Then her finger shifted to the last one, which had a red wax seal stamped with a noble crest.
"This one is a B-class request posted by Baron Helwick. He is desperately seeking a rare herb called Phoenixroot to treat his daughter’s Frostvein Sickness— it only grows near volcanic vents in the Firecrest Caverns, a place full of magma slis and fire-attribute beasts. It’s dangerous but very well-paid, since it’s ti-sensitive."
A ripple of interest passed through the hall — not many rookies even considered requests like this.
Oliver looked at Isolde, who was already smirking.
"Volcanoes and fire monsters, huh?" she said casually. "Sounds fun."
Oliver scratched his cheek nervously. "We just registered, you know..."
"And? You think I’m worried about a few fire lizards?" Isolde crossed her arms, almost daring him to object.
Lena blinked, clearly unsure if they were joking or suicidal. "Um... I do have to warn you that this quest is technically recomnded for parties with at least one B-rank mber. But if you’re confident in your ability, the guild will allow it since your party contains an S-rank adventurer."
Oliver sighed but smiled. "Yeah, we’ll take that one."
The room fell silent for a mont, a few nearby adventurers looking at them like they were crazy.
"Are they serious?"
"B-rank right out of registration?"
"Either they’re suicidal... or they’re really strong."
Lena hesitated only a mont longer, then nodded, stamping the request with the guild’s official seal. "Very well. Phoenixroot Retrieval. You have five days to complete the request before it is reassigned. Please be careful — Firecrest Caverns has claid more than a few overconfident adventurers."
"Don’t worry," Isolde said with a lazy grin. "We’ll be back in a day or two."
Oliver nodded, tucking the parchnt into his belt pouch. "Thanks, Lena. We’ll check back when we return."
As they turned to leave, Oliver muttered under his breath, "Well, this is going to be a hell of a first quest..."
Isolde smirked. "You’ll thank when we’re swimming in reward money."
Oliver and Isolde left the guild shortly after, stopping by the market to buy a few supplies — fire-resistant cloaks, a couple of healing potions, and dried food for the road.
By the ti they set off, the sun was already past its peak, casting long shadows across the cobblestone road that led south toward the volcanic region.
"So, we’re really doing this, huh?" Oliver asked, adjusting the strap of his spear on his back.
Isolde walked beside him, hands clasped behind her head, looking far too relaxed for soone heading into a lava-filled dungeon.
"You’re the one who signed the paper," she teased. "Getting cold feet already?"
"I’m not cold. I’m just... saying this is way above a normal rookie quest."
"Exactly. You want to get stronger, right? Then stop whining and treat this like training."
Oliver groaned but kept walking.
"You make it sound like we’re going on a stroll through the park. If you would just help a little more, it’d be over in half the ti."
Isolde smirked sideways at him.
"If I do everything for you, you’ll never grow. You need to get used to fighting real threats. Besides..." She leaned closer, lowering her voice with a teasing smile. "...if you perform well, maybe I’ll reward you tonight."
Oliver blinked, his ears going red. "Y-you’re using sex as a carrot now?"
"Mmhm~," she humd playfully, swaying her hips as they walked. "Nothing motivates a man like a proper ’treat.’"
"Unbelievable..." Oliver muttered, but he walked faster.
Firecrest Caverns
The entrance to the caverns was a jagged maw of blackened stone, hot air spilling out in slow waves. The air stank of sulfur and burnt minerals.
Oliver wiped sweat from his forehead as they stepped inside, the heat wrapping around them instantly. The walls glowed faintly red from the lava rivers deeper inside.
"Stay alert," Isolde said casually. "This place is crawling with magma slis and fire lizards."
No sooner had she spoken than a low hiss echoed from up ahead. A pair of molten slis slithered out from a crevice, glowing cores pulsing as they oozed toward them.
Oliver took a deep breath, gripped his spear, and charged.
He jabbed at the first sli, piercing its core cleanly. It burst with a hiss, splattering steaming goo across the ground.
The second one lunged at him faster than he expected. He sidestepped — barely — and thrust again, but the spear only grazed its body.
"Tsk!" Oliver cursed, backing up as the sli ford a glowing ball of molten spit in its core.
"Focus, Master," Isolde called lazily from where she leaned against the cavern wall, arms folded.
"You could help, you know!" Oliver shouted, dodging as the sli spat a glob of fire that sizzled on the stone where he’d been standing.
"You’ll thank later. Try sweeping its core from below."
Grumbling, Oliver shifted his stance and crouched low. When the sli launched forward again, he pivoted, thrusting his spear upward — the blade pierced through its bottom and into the glowing core, shattering it.
The sli collapsed into a puddle.
"Haaah... damn, that was close."
Isolde clapped slowly, smirking.
"Not bad. Maybe I will reward you tonight if you keep this up."
Oliver shot her a look, half annoyed and half flustered.
"You’re seriously enjoying this, aren’t you?"
"Of course." She walked past him toward the deeper tunnels, her hips swaying. "Co on. That was just the warm-up."
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