The transition from the dungeon to the outside world was always disorienting. One moment, the air was thick with the sulfurous stench of the swamp and the heavy pressure of necrotic mana. The next, it was filled with the smell of pine needles and damp earth.
The portal rippled and spat them out into the late afternoon sun of the forest clearing just outside Ruvka.
"Perimeter!" Carlos barked the second his boots hit natural grass.
The team exploded into action. Tamsin vanished into the tree line to check for squirrels that might harbor assassin intent. Grimmand spun around, his shield raised, staring down a confused deer that had been grazing near the portal stone. Elara immediately cast a sensory net that covered a hundred meters in every direction.
Jacob stood in the middle of the diamond formation. He adjusted the strap of his Distortion Bag. It was now stuffed with void stone, monster cores, a unique Behemoth heart, and forty pounds of muddy salt-grass bulbs.
"Clear right," Tamsin called from a tree branch.
"Clear left," Elara confirmed. "No mana signatures detected. Just wildlife."
"The deer is retreating," Grimmand reported, lowering his shield slightly but keeping a suspicious eye on the animal's white tail. "But it looked shifty."
Carlos let out a breath and sheathed his sword, though he kept his hand on the hilt. He looked at Jacob.
"Alright. We have two hours of daylight. We are going to march at a double-time pace. No stopping for snacks. No stopping to look at cool rocks. We get to the farm, we hand you to your father, and we complete this quest before the universe decides to drop a meteor on us."
"It is a twenty-minute walk to the village," Jacob pointed out, starting to walk. "And then an hour to the farm. We will be fine."
"Do not jinx it," Tamsin said, dropping from the tree to land silently beside him. "The universe loves irony. The moment you say we are fine is the moment a dragon falls out of the sky."
The walk back to Ruvka was the most stressful stroll of Jacob's life. Not because of monsters, but because of his bodyguards.
Every time a twig snapped, Grimmand flinched. Every time the wind rustled the leaves, Elara refreshed her barrier spell. By the time they reached the outskirts of the village, the adventurers were sweating more than they had during the boss fight.
Ruvka was a quiet place. It was a collection of sturdy timber houses, a general store, a tavern, and a blacksmith. As the party marched down the main dirt road, the villagers stopped their evening chores to stare.
It was a strange sight. A heavily armored knight, a dwarf covered in swamp mud, an elf glowing with residual mana, and a rogue with daggers drawn were marching in a tight phalanx around... little Jacob Hemlock.
Old Man Miller waved from his porch. "Evenin', Jacob! Make it back safe?"
"Threat detected," Carlos muttered, his head snapping toward the old man.
[Combat Insight Triggered]
[Target: Elderly Human][Weapon: Wooden Cane][Threat Level: Negligible][Status: Friendly]
"Stand down," Carlos whispered to the team. "It is a civilian."
"Hello, Mr. Miller!" Jacob called back, waving through the gap between Grimmand and Carlos. "Just got some herbs for the garden!"
"That is a lot of security for some herbs!" the old man laughed.
"These are very expensive herbs!" Tamsin yelled back with a charming grin. "Top of the line! Don't get too close, they bite!"
They hurried through the town. Jacob tried to stop at the baker's stall to buy a sweet roll, but Elara physically lifted him off the ground and kept walking without breaking stride.
"No stops," she said pleasantly. "Sugar makes you hyper. Hyper children run. Running leads to tripping. Tripping leads to injury. No rolls."
"You guys are the worst," Jacob grumbled, dangling from her grip until she set him down on the other side of the market.
The sun was dipping below the horizon by the time the Hemlock farm came into view.
The familiar sight of the farmhouse, with smoke curling from the chimney and the cattle grazing in the twilight, made Jacob feel a sudden wave of relief. The dungeon had been exciting, but the constant pressure of the mana density had been exhausting.
Arthur was standing by the gate.
He leaned against a fence post, chewing on a stalk of wheat. He watched the heavily armed squad approach his property with the calm, impassive expression of a man who had seen everything.
Carlos held up a hand. "Halt."
The party stopped ten feet from the gate.
"Target location reached," Carlos breathed. "Grimmand, secure the rear. Tamsin, watch the tree line. Elara, scan the house."
"House is clear," Elara reported. "One adult male at the gate. One adult female inside. Two juvenile signatures in the barn."
Carlos stepped forward. He looked exhausted, muddy, and stressed, but he stood tall.
"Arthur Hemlock?" Carlos asked formally.
Arthur looked at the knight, noticing he was acting weird since they had already met. Then he looked at his son, who was covered in dungeon grime but seemingly unharmed.
"That is me . . ." Arthur said, chalking up the weird atmosphere to some quest or whatever. "You bring my boy back in one piece?"
"One piece," Carlos confirmed. "No scratches. No bruises. And a bag full of salt-grass."
Jacob squeezed past Carlos and ran to the gate. "Hey, Dad! The dungeon was huge! We fought a giant bull-lizard, and Elara blew it up with a light bomb!"
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And did you get the grass?"
"Got it," Jacob patted his bag. "Enough for the whole plot!"
Arthur nodded, satisfied. He opened the gate. "Get inside and wash up. Your mother has some stew on."
Jacob stepped through the gate. He crossed the property line.
The moment his foot hit the soil of the farm, the air around the adventurers shimmered.
A massive, golden notification window exploded into existence in the center of the group.
Quest Completed: Escort Anomaly
Time Elapsed: 4 Hours
Rating: Perfect
Rewards Distributed
Carlos gasped as a pillar of golden light hit him. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest. He could feel the knowledge burning itself into his mind. The skill Shield Bash was tearing itself apart and knitting back together into something far more terrifying.
[Skill Evolved: Titan's Impact (B-Rank)]
Grimmand cried out as a heavy, ornate stone fragment materialized in his hands. It glowed with the runes of his ancestors, humming with a power that made his axe vibrate in sympathy.
Elara arched her back, a pure white light purging her body. She coughed up a final glob of black tar and then took a deep, clean breath. Her mana channels widened, clarifying instantly. The chronic ache of potion sickness vanished.
Tamsin just started laughing. He held a leather-bound book in his hands. Shadow Step. The holy grail of movement skills.
Arthur watched the light show with mild interest. He didn't see the System windows, but he saw the magic. He knew what quest completion looked like.
"Well," Arthur said, spitting out his wheat stalk. "Looks like you folks had a productive trip."
Carlos stood up slowly. He felt like he could punch a hole through a mountain. He looked at Arthur, then at Jacob, who was already running toward the house.
"Productive," Carlos choked out. "Yes. You could say that."
He walked over to the fence and extended a hand to Arthur.
"Your son," Carlos said, shaking the farmer's hand with profound seriousness, "is a very special young man. If you ever need . . . anything. Anything at all . . . you send a message to the Guild. You ask for Carlos's team, and we will be here."
Arthur gripped the knight's hand. His grip was surprisingly strong for a farmer.
"I appreciate that," Arthur said. "He has a knack for finding trouble. Good to know he has friends who can handle it."
Arthur turned to head back to the house. "You folks want some stew? It is fresh beef."
Grimmand looked at his ancestral fragment. He looked at the warm, inviting house.
"I would kill for some stew," the dwarf admitted.
"Then come on in," Arthur said. "Just leave the weapons by the door. May doesn't like mud in the hall."
As the most powerful adventuring party in the region filed humbly through the garden gate, Jacob was already inside, dumping forty pounds of priceless dungeon loot and muddy grass onto the kitchen table.
"Mom!" Jacob yelled. "I'm home!"
And in the quiet space that would normally connect Jacob to the System, a silent voice talked to no one:
Hidden Quest Completed
Rarity:Unique
Completed Objective:Survive enhanced gate.
Reward: Class Upgrade
Error: Questee is not connected
Resolution: Pending Reward . . .