Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chapter 19: Guild

"Alright then. Let's begin." Gunter motions to Amanda to start the timer. She nods and flips the hourglass over, numbers suddenly appearing as the sand falls. Just as the timer begins, Gunter dashes towards the pair, his giant weapon above his head intending to slash down. Sam doesn't move, panic settling into his bones. Thankfully, Yuuya sees him coming and pushes Sam to the side, just missing the blow. Yuuya pulls out his sword from its sheath and moves to strike the man. Gunter easily blocks it, the men holding their positions as they struggle to push the other away. Sam scrambles to get up, refusing to be useless, as Yuuya grunts in effort as he pushes their weapons pointing to the ground, allowing him to head butt the older man. The hit stuns the man long enough for Yuuya to use his wind magic to push him hard against the boulders behind him. With him dazed, Yuuya grabs Sam's arm and dashes behind the boulders furthest away from Gunter. Gunter looks around, trying to find the pair. While looking, Yuuya pulls Sam down to whisper, "What do you know about the Guildmaster?" It takes Sam a moment to collect himself and responds shakily, "Uh well I heard he reached the highest of rank with the Adventurer's Guild within a year..." Yuuya gives him a deadpanned look, "How does that help us?" Loud explosions cast above their heads, just missing the boulder they're hiding behind. "Come out boys! I took the time to come out and handle your test. The least you can do is provide some entertainment." A lightbulb suddenly flashes above Yuuya's head. "Ohhh he's one of those guys...Adrenaline junkies, looking to fight strong opponents. Interesting." Yuuya looks Sam in the eyes. "Okay. Here's the plan: I'll handle him up front. I'll try to keep his attention on me. You'll attack from afar, try to use your water magic and throw some ice shards at him, maybe even freeze his body. It'll buy us more time." The boulder in front of them crumbles as sudden spikes of earth hits it, taking the men by surprise. Gunter swings his sword through the dust, barely being blocked once again by Yuuya's sword just before slicing Sam's throat. Yuuya pushes against the man hard, just enough to allow Sam to duck down and run away from the men, gaining some distance. Yuuya and Gunter swing their weapons, their figures a blur, sparks the only indication that their weapons actually made contact. Gunter smirks at Yuuya's attempts to throw him off balance, never meeting someone that could keep up with him. "Not bad. This kid is strong. Time to kick it up a notch." Sparks of electricity surround Gunter as he quietly mutters a chant, "Light which burns beyond crimson flame, let thy power gather in my hand. Lightning!" The electricity transfer into his great sword and zaps Yuuya into a boulder. Yuuya grunts in pain, not expecting the attack, he looks up in time to see a bolt of lightning coming right at him. "Oh shit!" Yuuya ducks, rolling to his feet and runs away from the attacks, getting a weird sense of deja vu. Yuuya summons his fire magic and throws balls of fire, colliding with Gunter's lightning that creates massive explosions. The spectators and Sam duck to avoid any burns on their flesh. Sam peeks out from his hiding spot, watching nervously as he sees Yuuya shoot out fireball after fireball while dodging Gunter's attacks. He waits until Yuuya jumps away from Gunter's sword before summoning his water magic. Once he had enough water balls around him, he manipulates the water balls to form spikes of ice and throws them towards Gunter. A spike of ice sticks into the ground, right next to Gunter's left foot, alerting him of the incoming danger. He uses his great sword to block the ice spikes, leaving him open to Yuuya's punch to the side. Gunter grunts in pain before placing his foot down and kicks Yuuya away with his lightning, forcing the disguised beast-man's muscles to seize up and fall to the ground. Before Gunter could swing his sword down, a wall of ice blocks his attack, shielding Yuuya in the process. The Guildmaster turns looks around until he spots Sam dashing behind a different boulder from before. Gunter raises his hand to use more lightning before Yuuya jumps in the air, recovered from the kick, and swings his sword down, forcing the man to pay attention to the disguised beast-man once again. Yuuya jumps away from Gunter and swings his sword quickly, each attack being blocked. He uses his light magic to blind the man, Gunter tries to rub his eyes before feeling a freezing sensation in his legs. Once his vision clears, the Guildmaster looks to see his feet frozen to the ground, surprising the man. Yuuya runs straight forward, engulfing his sword in fire as he pushes his sword straight towards Gunter's chest. The Guildmaster simply smiles and chants, "The source of all power, shining and burning red flame. According to the words of the covenant. Gather in my hands and become a force. Shockwave!"
Just before Yuuya could strike his opponent, wave of electricity pushes Yuuya away into the boulders across from Gunter, Sam yelling out as his arm was caught in the blast, small sparks shocking his limb. Yuuya gasps as he tries to catch his breath while Sam wraps a bandage around the burned flesh, not wanting to use his amulet just yet, giving Gunter time to break out of his icy shackles. Yuuya is still trying to recover when Gunter breaks free. He slowly walks over to the struggling figure while chanting, "Spirit of Earth, sand, and stone. Your power is patience and endurance. You sustain our humble existence. Keep me firm and embraced in abundance. I call you now to ensnare my prey with your stony shackles." The ground rumbles as hard dirt shackle Yuuya's wrists and ankles, trapping the poor man. Yuuya finally gets his breathing under control when he looks up and sees Gunter raise his sword up, "Not bad kid. No one has lasted more than a minute with me. You still have-" He looks up at the timer, seeing the glowing numbers from the distance. "About a little more than a minute left. So close." He moves to swing his sword, but a cannon of water hits him from the side, forcing him to crash into the boulders. Sam pants as he limps towards Yuuya on the ground, still stuck. "Yuuya! Are you okay?" Yuuya takes a big gulp of air and nods his head. "Never better. Quick! Before he gets back up." Sam summons more water and cuts away the dirt bonds around his wrists. He moves to do the same with his ankles when a bolt of lightning hits Sam in the side, causing the man to cry out in pain. "Sam!" Yuuya screams as he uses his strength to break the dirt bonds around his ankles, quickly running to Sam's side. "Sam? Sam! Say something!" His human friend whimper, unable to voice out his condition properly. Yuuya turns to the source of the attack, seeing Gunter dust himself off. "Gotta be more aware of your surroundings boys." Yuuya doesn't hear his words, too focused on Sam's harsh breathing. Yuuya ignores Gunter and starts using his light magic to heal his friend. "Heal" A warm light erupts from his hands as Sam groans at the warm feeling. Calming down once the pain has died down. Gunter frowns as he notices Yuuya healing his friend, the audience also finding the scene displeasing. "Oof! Bad call. Now that kid's not gonna be able to handle the boss." "He's definitely going down." "His friend won't be able to get out this either." Gunter sighs and raises his sword again, saying another chant that envelops his entire body in electricity. "Sorry kid, but this is how you learn." He rushes light speed at the pair, fully intending to strike down Yuuya from behind. Unfortunately for him, Yuuya raises one of his hands behind him towards Gunter and creates a shield of light that immediately deflects the man's attack, never once stopping his healing magic. Gunter stumbles backwards, not expecting the strong defense especially when he heard no chant. He looks down and sees Yuuya still healing his friend. Once Sam is fully healed, he looks and sees Yuuya's worried expression. "Yuuya?" Said man smiles at him. "Stay here Samuel. I'll handle the rest." He rests his hand on Sam's shoulder briefly. "You did really great. I'm proud of you." He stands to his full height and glares dangerously at the Guildmaster, a dark aura surrounds the man as he allows his anger to take over. Gunter sweat drops at the sight, never feeling so much danger before now, sensing he made a grave mistake. Gunters holds his stance as he prepares to charge again. Yuuya continues to glare, showing no signs to hold up any kind of defense. Gunters sneaks a glance at where Yuuya dropped his sword during the shockwave spell before turning back to the man. "He's not making any move...What's he up to?" Instincts from years of adventuring warning him to back off, but the man simply ignores it as he readies himself more. Again Yuuya makes no move, stumping everyone watching including Sam as he lays on the ground still recovering from the shock. Gunter dash's forward again, ready to strike Yuuya right in the chest.
Yuuya stands still as time moves slowly, he watches closely as he observes Gunter's movements. He makes a quick motion with his hand, activating his sword's special ability: homing. His sword stands up from the ground and flies right into Yuuya's hand, allowing him to strike up right when Gunter was a couple of feet away. He pours so much mana into his sword that when he swings up, he breaks Gunter's sword, leaving a clean cut in the once large blade. Gunter's eyes widen at the damage before a strong gust of wind forces him against the other side of the room, right into a boulder. Gunter doesn't get the chance to move as a blade is pushed against his throat, glowing angry violet eyes staring into his own terrified gray ones. Yuuya glares at the man, silently daring him to make a move. "You hurt my friend. I don't like you." Gunter says nothing, too surprised what has occurred. Yuuya doesn't expect a response and kicks the man through the cracked boulder behind Gunter, having him crash past the arena's boundary line and into a couple of veteran adventurers. The group shout out in surprise as they try to catch their boss. Yuuya stands right before the line, holding up a ball of fire in his open hand. "I don't care if you're in charge. Don't ever touch Sam again!" To express his anger, Yuuya throws the fireball right by Gunter's head, making the wall behind burst in a fiery explosion, somehow missing all the bystanders nearby. Gunter sweatdrops at the scene and looks at Yuuya, amazement filling his eyes, never once been defeated in battle except by one other person. Luckily for him, the timer dings and draws Yuuya's attention away. Amanda nervously shouts, "T-time's up!" Yuuya has a look of surprise, suddenly remembering the test. "Really?" He looks at Sam with a bright smile, the dark aura originally surrounding him dissipates instantly as he looks at his friend. "Sam! We passed! We did it!" The disguised beast-man rush to his friend, his form a blur, as he crashes into Sam in a bear hug. "Isn't that amazing!?" Sam chokes for a second before returning the gesture. "Y-yeah, it sure is..." Still feeling slightly nervous over his friend's aggression a short while ago.
No one says a word, not believing what has transpired right in front of their eyes. "D-did the boss...just...lost? To a newbie?" More questions follow before turning into cheers, finding respect in the pair of rookies, one in particular. Gunter still says nothing as the adventurers by his side try to draw his attention, still staring at the man that bested him. "I can't believe it...I lost." The man doesn't feel anger, rather he feels intrigued over the fact that he lost. Amanda rushes to his side, worry filling her face. "S-sir! Are you alright?" The man laughs hard and loud, drawing everyone's attention onto him, including the pair still hugging in the arena. Yuuya grips onto Sam's shirt tighter, prepared for any more attacks from the hysterical man as gets up, still laughing. "I'm great! This-" Gunter extends his arm out to the pair in the arena. "-Is the greatest thing that has ever happened to this guild." Gunter speed walks over to the pair, shrugging off the hands, until he was right in front of them to extend his hand to the confused men. Yuuya makes no move, still holding a grudge against the man, and discreetly pushes Sam behind him. Gunter smiles softly and kneels down to their level. "Don't worry, the test is over. From here on out, I will protect you two as you are now...one of us." Sam tries to lean over to the side, his view still blocked by his friend's back. Yuuya narrows his eyes, still waiting for any sign that the man in front was lying. Suddenly, a scent fills his nose, reminding him of the forest after a gentle rain. The smell somehow calms the disguised beast-man, confusing him in the process. "What...is this smell?" His eyes shift left and right, never moving his head, as he tries to find the source of the smell. After a few seconds, Yuuya discovers that the smell is coming off of Gunter, who is still kneeling patiently, not wanting to agitate Yuuya. The disguised beast-man furrows his eyebrows before widening at a sudden thought. "Oh my-I forgot! Scent of truth!" Scent of truth, a special skill that only beast-men type characters have access to. It works only on one person at a time and when the player is talking to an NPC in the game. When the skill is activated the player will see a description of the smell, if it was pleasant and calming to the player then the NPC could be trusted, however, if the smell was sour or disgusting then the NPC was not a good person and shouldn't be trusted. Yuuya remembers using the skill back when he played as Sakura, the descriptions were very detailed thanks to her maxing out the skill. He never thought that the skill would activate automatically, he always had to push a button to use the skill. "But this isn't a game...This is real." The smell still comforting the man as he sighs, deciding to trust in his skill and nose. He grips the offered hand and gives it a stern shake, allowing Sam to see the exchange. Gunter smiles wider and pulls Yuuya up with him to stand tall before pulling him into a hug, surprising Yuuya in the process. "Great! You too son, you passed as well!" He holds his hand out to Sam, who takes it more quickly than Yuuya did, and gets pulled into the group hug. Gunter slings his arms over the flustered men as he shouts, "Everyone! I am proud to welcome Yuuya and Samuel into the Adventurer's Guild. Give them a round of applause!" Loud cheers and applause surrounds them, making Yuuya and Sam blush darker. Gunter laughs at their reactions and slightly chokes the pair. "This calls for a celebration! C'mon! The first round is on me!" More cheers follow as Gunter leads the pair and the rest of the adventurers into the main hall, one soul not following as they narrow their eyes at the scene.
Yuuya stares at his cup, the reek of alcohol filling his nostrils while laughter shout in his ears. His heart starts to beat faster as he starts to feel overwhelmed, memories of high school flooding his mind. Thankfully, Gunter falls into a chair next to him, his own cup in hand as he pulls Yuuya to his side, getting him to snap back to reality. "C'mon boy, aren't you gonna drink with us? You're an adventurer now! Adventurers drink!" Yuuya smiles nervously at the man as he takes his own cup, grimacing at the thought of drinking underage. "Umm I'm only seventeen..." Gunter laughs, nearly spilling his drink. "Pssh! So what? I had my first drink when I was only twelve. Try it!" Yuuya looks between the Guildmaster and his drink before surrendering by bringing the cup to his lips. The taste doesn't immediately throw him off like he thought and actually thoroughly enjoys the drink. He slams the cup down and lets out a happy sigh. Several adventurers near him cheer and clap his back. "Nice one rookie!" "Way to chug that drink dry!" "Would you look at that? That boy really has the adventurer spirit!" Yuuya smiles brightly and is shaken by Gunter's laughter. "See kid? Not bad huh?" Yuuya nods his head and looks across from him to see Sam resting his head on the table. His eyes spinning as the alcohol worked its way in his blood stream. Yuuya sweatdrops at the scene and chuckles nervously as other adventurers laugh at his friend's predicament. Gunter chuckles as well until he sees Amanda motion him over. Gunter pats Yuuya's back one last time before getting up, "Good job today kid. Take care of your friend. Gentlemen, ladies, and everyone in between! Show them a good time!" The guild yell out confirmations before swarming the pair.
Gunter walks with Amanda up to the balcony, overseeing the main hall, while putting his cup down on the counter. "What is it?" Amanda clears her throat and hands him some documents. "Well sir, I just wanted to show you their results." Gunter scans through the papers, surprise filling his eyes. "Interesting." Amanda points at one, "This is Samuel's results. He scored full marks on the written test. The best the guild has ever seen." Gunter nods as she points to another sheet. "And this is Yuuya's. His score was pretty low. Two more right answers and he would've passed." Gunter looks over Yuuya's test answers, surprised how little the boy knew despite seeing him in action. "Hmmm..." He tosses the papers to Amanda, she barely catches them in time. "Toss them. I don't care if that kid got bad marks." He turns away from her as he grips the railing, staring down at everyone celebrating. Amanda stutters, "B-but sir! Rules state that-" Gunter cuts her off, "I know! But between the two of them, they pass. You know the way I see it, Yuuya passed the physical while Samuel failed it, the boy had been taken out and was forced to be healed in the middle of the test." He glances at the surprised receptionist, still not moving his head away. "That boy...is unlike anyone I have ever met. We can't afford to throw him away. He might not understand the world, but-" He nods towards the unconscious blue-haired human, Yuuya trying to shake him awake. "His friend seems to know it well. I say we pass them." Gunter smiles at the pair. "If we fail one of them, the other will follow. It's time we adjust the rules." He finally turns his head to look at Amanda, "As of today, Yuuya and Samuel are adventurers. Is that understood?" The receptionist nods and bows her head. "Yes sir. I'll get started on their adventurer licenses." Gunter gives her a smile and looks back down, seeing Yuuya putting Sam on his back, telling everyone he was heading out for the night. "Just who are you kid?"
Yuuya hums softly as he carries his friend on his back while walking back to their inn. Excitement fills his bones as he goes over the day's events. "This was amazing! I can't believe I'm actually an adventurer now! Oooo this is so like the game. With Sam here, we can form our own party! Ah! It's gonna be awesome. I wonder what we should be called...Can't really give ourselves a name yet since it's just the two of us...I always found the idea of a couple of people coming up with a name for themselves stupid back in my gaming days, it just looks so dumb. Oh well. Guess we'll have to wait until we recruit more." Yuuya enters the inn, missing a pair of golden eyes watching him the entire time. After greeting Grace at the entrance, Yuuya gently puts Sam on the bed. The man doesn't stir as Yuuya takes off his shoes and jacket. Yuuya sighs as he lets his disguise go, finally able to breathe again. He sits on the bed, thinking about his newly discovered skill. "I didn't think I could use that, but now that I think about it." He turns to his friend, the man having turned on his side facing the beast-man when he wasn't looking. Yuuya leans over and sniffs the man, registering the strong alcohol scent, forcing Yuuya to concentrate deeper. Finally, his nose picks up on the smell of sweet honey mixed with lilacs. Yuuya smiles at the lovely fragrance and moves away, "Never thought Sam smelled so good. I wonder why the skill didn't activate back when we first met..." Yuuya shrugs his shoulders and takes off his shoes. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrap around his middle, surprising the beast-man. He looks over and sees Sam rubbing his face into Yuuya's clothed back. "Mmmm...Yuuya..." Said beast-man gently turns around pulls Sam's face up. "I'm right here. Are you feeling okay?" The human groans before clouded green eyes open, "Mmmm hot...it's...too hot." Sam moves to take his shirt off, flustering the beast-man. "W-woah! Wa-wait!" Yuuya holds his friend's hands to his side, making the man groan in frustration. "I'm hoooot...Let go." Yuuya shakes his head and easily wraps the human in a blanket. Sam struggles weakly, the alcohol working against him. "Yuuyaaaa...Help...." The beast-man sighs and places his hand on the blanket, using his water and wind magic to cool down his friend under the blanket. Sam sighs happily and nuzzling deeper into the covers. "Ahhh that's...so nice..." Sam blinks owlishly at Yuuya with a drunken smile. "You're soooo...cool Yuuya. How...How do you...do this?" The man slurs as Yuuya rubs his stomach through the blanket. "I'm just that good he." Yuuya answers with a chuckle at the end. Sam sighs again and closes his eyes, sleep claiming him. Just before he succumbs, Sam mumbles out, "You're amazing...I'm so happy...I like...being here...and...you." Sam snores gently as Yuuya smiles sweetly, happy his friend was resting. "I like it here too." Yuuya blows out the light and climbs under the covers, finally able to rest.
When Yuuya wakes up again, its to the sound of his friend groaning in pain. Yuuya turns over and sees Sam sitting over the side of the bed holding his head. The beast-man gets up and leans over, "Morning Sam. You okay?" His friend nods slowly, still holding his head. "Mmph...Never better. Ooof...I'm never drinking again." Yuuya laughs softly and sits next to him. "You know, you can just use the amulet. It would help the migraine." Sam looks at Yuuya, realization crossing his face. "I'm an idiot." Yuuya laughs louder as the human holds his necklace. "Hermes." The pendant glows as a warm light swarm Sam's body, making the man sigh in bliss. He pulls Yuuya into a side hug, "Did I mention how awesome you are?" Yuuya giggles and nods, "Yup, you told me all last night." Sam freezes as he thinks back to what he said, a blush covering his cheeks while hangs his head low, "Oh Goddess...Did I say anything embarrassing?" Yuuya shakes his head and gently removes Sam's hand as he gets up to get ready, "Not really, just that you were hot and that I was amazing. And how much you like this place." Sam snaps his head up, wondering if his friend heard the last bit. "Um *gulp* that's it?" Yuuya turns his head to look at Sam before turning back around, "Yup! Nothing too exciting. You mainly slept through the alcohol." Sam lets out a sigh of relief. "I guess he missed the part that I said I liked him. Thank Goddess." The men get ready for the day, Yuuya putting on his disguise, and head downstairs to eat. After breakfast, Yuuya and Sam head to the Adventurer's Guild, surprised to see everyone turn to look at them and give them a warm welcome. "Hey check it out! It's the newbies!" The nearby adventurers crowding the pair, making Yuuya nervous as hides behind his friend. Sam chuckles at his uneasiness and tries to past the people. "Hey newbies! Wanna join our party?" "We could use a strong fighter in our group." "We've seen your light magic, we could use a healer." Many people try to offer them a place, but the pair decline politely, already decided that they would form their own party. Amanda greets them when they finally reach her counter. "Good morning! I have your licenses ready, just need your blood print and you'll be all set." Yuuya looks at Sam, confused on what to do. Amanda holds up a silver card and a needle, she passes the items to Sam. He places the card and pricks his thumb with the needle, wincing a bit, and places thumb on the card, smearing the small droplet of blood on it. The card gives off a golden glow as words suddenly appear on the once blank card. Yuuya gasps in awe, stars appearing in his eyes. Sam picks up his card and proudly shows it off to the disguised beast-man. "See? Easy." Yuuya looks over at Amanda, seeing her holding a set for him. He gulps nervously before taking the offered items. He copies Sam's movements before, unfortunately, the needle doesn't break through his skin. Yuuya grunts in effort as he tries to draw blood. The needle bends the more he pushes down. His eyes narrow in annoyance so he bites down on his thumb instead, finally able to draw blood. Sam's and Amanda's eyes widen in surprise, not expecting the man to have such difficulty. Yuuya misses the looks, too focused on completing his task. Just like before, the card glows once his bloodied thumb makes contact. He marvels over how words suddenly appear, his name, age, and rank visible along with the Adventurer's Guild trademark on the left corner. Yuuya puzzles over his rank: E. He looks up at Amanda and points to his rank. "What's this?" Amanda smiles and pulls out a chart from under the counter. "That is your rank. Allow me to begin your orientation." The men see the chart consisting a pyramid structure, she points at the bottom. "This is Rank E, where you are. Everyone starts off as Rank E. This is where adventurers can complete E rank quests and commissions. It mainly focuses on plant gathering, small monsters hunts, and civilian requests like house cleaning or finding missing pets. Adventurers can only complete quests at their rank or below. You have to get special permission from the Guildmaster if you wish to take on higher ranked quests." Sam and Yuuya nod their heads as they listen, informing the woman that they were following along and allowing her to continue. "Adventurers can get promoted the more quests and commissions they complete or if they make some kind of huge contribution to the guild or country. There are ranks E, D, C, B, A, and S. As you can see, E is the lowest and S is the highest. As the rank increases the difficulty in quests increase as well." She points to the wall across from them. "You'll find quests and commissions on the giant bulletin board behind you, but if you need any help you're welcome to come to us and we can find something that best suits you and your party." Yuuya looks and sees the massive board, still full to the brim with quests. Sam nods and asks, "Since we're new, got any advice what our first quest should be?" Amanda smiles and puts the chart back under the counter and pulls out three sheets. "Of course! I have a medical herb gathering quest where a client requested for ten sun lilies found in the forest to the west. This is one is a monster hunt request where you need to defeat twenty blue slimes and collect their cores. And this one requires adventurers to cook some food at the local orphanage near here." She points to each sheet as she explains. Sam and Yuuya look at each one, considering which one to take. Yuuya simply shrugs his shoulders and grabs all three. "We'll take them all." Amanda looks surprised while Sam grabs the papers gently, thinking over which one to do first. "Uhh okay. That's fine, but I recommend you take your time. These don't have any deadlines and this is your first day as an adventurer." Yuuya nods as he places ten silver coins down, confusing the woman. "Um what's this?" It's Yuuya's turn to be confused. "Ten silver coins. I was told we had to pay for licenses." Amanda blinks before chuckling, "Oh you mean the registration fee. Don't worry about it. The Guildmaster already paid, he said 'thanks for a great time'." Both men look up at the mention of the Guildmaster's name. They share a look before shrugging, not wanting to look at a gift horse in the mouth. Yuuya takes the money back and walk with Sam to the outside, ready to start their first day at completing quests.
Yuuya and Sam head west, figuring they would look for the sun lilies and hunt for slimes in the same place. While Sam gathered the flowers, Yuuya hunted the slimes, able to put his disguise away since they were alone. Yuuya found the hunt very fun, thrilled at fighting the number one popular monster in all games in real life. By the time Yuuya collected the monster cores, and even found a few larger slimes along the way and receiving some green cores along with the twenty gray cores he has, Sam picked the last of the sun lily, making sure to pull out the roots as well. They cheer at their slight victory in completing their first couple of quests. After Yuuya puts his disguise back on, they walk back to the city to complete their last quest on the list. An older woman in a dark brown dress with a dirty white apron answers the door, surprised to find them holding their quest paper. "Hello! We're from the Adventurer's Guild. We're here to help with the cooking." Sam explains as Yuuya waves cheerfully at the small children who giggle at them. The woman smiles as she opens the door wider to allow them entry. "Of course! Welcome. My name is Charolette. Thank you for coming all this way. Our usual cook has fallen ill and won't be able to cook for a few days." Yuuya plays with the kids by chasing them, drawing out loud laughter that makes Sam and Charolette smile at the cute scene. The children continue to play with the disguised beast-man while Sam helped Charolette cook, learned from his mother how to make meat stew. He pops some dough in the oven as he looks at the window and sees Yuuya using his wind magic to make some of the children fly a few feet off the ground. The rest of the children beg the man for their turn, making him laugh as he tries to focus on the flying children. "Okay okay. Wait your turn. I promise you'll all get a chance." Charolette smiles at the scene and continues to stir the pot's contents. "I appreciate you boys coming. I was afraid the guild wouldn't be able to answer our call. Not many adventurers come to help out simple pedestrian requests, finding the idea too simple and unimpressive. It's always about hunting big monsters and saving the princess these days." Sam frowns at the news, but is reminded at the current situation when Yuuya yells out in surprise, being tackled by like eight kids at once, laughing in glee. He smiles and continues to chop up the vegetables, "Not us. We prefer to help all those around us if we can. We came from a small village so we understand the struggle. Besides, I think the kids are growing on him." The older woman smiles and keeps on cooking. When the food is ready, Sam calls out before erupting in laughter as he sees Yuuya under a pile of giggling kids as he jokingly tries to crawl away to escape. Luckily, their stomach growl, allowing the disguised beast-man to get up when they rush inside. Sam helps his friend up as his laughter slowly does down. "As always, you're great with kids." Yuuya nudges his side and walks inside with him. While the kids eat, Yuuya pulls Charolette to the side. "You know if your chef is sick, I can go heal them." Charolette gasps in shock and shakes her head, "Oh no it's fine! We can't afford a healer." Yuuya shakes his head and smiles warmly at her. "Free of charge. Consider it as part of the quest. You need help with the cooking, I can heal the cook. Simple." Charolette still looks uneasy so Yuuya tries one last time with biggest set of puppy eyes he could pull. "Please ma'am, I just want the kids to be able to eat and that you get the help you need." The woman sighs and nods her head. "Alright, I'll write down the address." The pair leave, waving goodbye to all the children before heading to their next destination. They knock on the door to the home of the cook's address that was given to them by Charolette. A couple of minutes later, a man wrapped in a blanket opens the door. His brown locks messy as his fever induced brown eyes stare dumbly at the pair. "Ye-yeah? Who is it" Sniffs the man. Yuuya frowns at the state of the man and looks down at the quest sheet where Charolette's handwriting was. "Are you Mr. Simon? Chef at Birdie's Orphanage?" The man takes a minute to answer before nodding his head. "Yeah?" Yuuya holds his hand up and white light erupts, surrounding the dazed man. Mr. Simon gasps at the sudden relief, no longer feeling hot and uncomfortable from the illness. "What did you just-" The pair smile at the man as Sam pats his back, "You've been healed sir, Miss Charolette requested help with cooking and informed us of your condition. Have a nice day!" The pair turn to leave before the man grabs Yuuya's hand, making him jump. "Th-thank you! How can I repay you? I have no money..." Yuuya smiles and holds his hand, "No charge, this was all part of the quest. Just help out with the cooking back at the orphanage and we can call this even." The man opens and closes his mouth rapidly before unshed tears fills his eyes. "Thank you! Consider it done!" The man continues to thank the pair as they leave, feeling accomplished over the days events.
"I can't believe we finished so quickly! We haven't even had lunch yet!" Yuuya exclaims as their stomachs grumble at the reminder. They laugh at their predicament and rush back to the Adventurer's Guild. Amanda snaps her head as she hears the doors open, surprised to see Yuuya and Sam back so soon. "Welcome back! How did it go?" Sam pulls out the bag containing the sun lilies while Yuuya pulls out a similar looking bag that holds the monster cores and places them on the counter. "We got ten sun lilies." "And twenty blue slime monster cores." They respond. Yuuya pulls out the quest paper containing the info regarding the orphanage, Charolette's signature at the bottom. "And helped out with the cooking." Amanda blinks owlishly in silent as she opens the bags, confirming their statements. "Wow...This...is amazing!" She inspects each flower while another receptionist, Craig, checks on the monster cores with a magnifying glass. After a couple of minutes, Amanda nods her head, "These look perfect! Well done. Let me see your quest forms." Sam hands her all three forms. She nods and uses a red inked stamp that had the guild's trademark on it to mark the plant gather and orphanage quests as complete. She looks over at Craig, waiting on his verdict. The man is holding one of the green cores Yuuya collected. "I've never seen a green core come from a blue slime." Yuuya clears his throat as he corrects the man, "Actually I got those from some larger slimes. They had a darker shade of blue on them." Recalling his fight with the slimes. Amanda's and Craig's eyes widen. "Large, dark blue slimes?" Yuuya nods as the receptionists whisper amongst themselves, making the disguised beast-man nervous. He whispers to Sam, "Was I not supposed to kill those slimes?" Sam answers, "No you're good. It's just rare to find dark blue slimes. People can sometimes use their fluids for medical treatments, but you only brought back the cores so we won't be able to get paid extra." Yuuya nods and mentally reminds himself to collect slime fluids next time. Amanda clears her throat, gaining their attention. "Since you collected the required monster cores and provided some green monster cores, the guild will pay you an extra silver coin for each green monster core. Does that work for you?" Yuuya nods, excited to earn extra money. Craig notices the orphanage quest, seeing Charolette's handwriting regarding Mr. Smith's condition. "Did something else happen at the orphanage?" Sam answers, "Miss Charolette informed us that their chef was ill so Yuuya healed him, that way the kids would be able to eat more." His eyes widen as Amanda checks the note on the quest form. "You healed the chef?" Yuuya nods while the receptionists again whisper to each other again. Luckily, the receptionists were quicker and Amanda says, "Well since the quest did say they needed help with the cooking and healing the chef falls under helping with the cooking, the guild won't charge the orphanage any extra, instead we'll pay you for the healing charge." Surprise fills the pair as Amanda does the calculations. She holds out a tray filled with coins. "Thanks to your efforts, you two have earned a hundred and fifty copper coins and forty-five silver coins." Sam and Yuuya gasp in shock, not expecting to make so much in one day. They smile at each other as they collect their money, Sam holding onto the coin pouch. "Sweet! Can we get some more quests? We want to do a couple more after lunch." Amanda nods and looks under the counter for any more quests the pair could handle. Before she can put the papers down, a loud shout from across the room halts her movements, "Hold it you two!" Yuuya's senses kick in as he pulls Sam down when a sudden fireball flies over their heads, hitting the doors next to them and scaring the receptionists. Everyone turns their head to stare at the culprit. There, a man with short hair that had an ombré effect where the top of his head is black that slowly fades to white at the tips in black silk fitted doublet with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and lined with red satin that go down to his waist and gray vest that matches his pants. The man's boots are black that fully covers his ankles. The feature that catches Yuuya's attention the most is the man's eyes: a glowing gold color.