The night passed. Adrian got his full eight hours of sleep, while 15 spent the first two fighting off rats. Eventually, he gave up, and as he drifted off to sleep, the rats curled up beside him. That night, he unknowingly overcame his fear of them.
In the morning, Adrian came downstairs, ready to take 15 back to Shine's base—only to find that he was already gone. A note was left behind, stating that another member had come to pick him up. Adrian shrugged, indifferent to the news, then turned his attention to the shelves lined with bottles of alcohol. Running his hand across them, each bottle he touched compressed into a small sphere, about 3 cm in diameter. He collected six in total and slipped them into his pocket for later use.
Leaving the inn, Adrian made his way to the center of the market district, where the Adventurers' Guild was located. Before entering, he took out a small wooden chip and restored it to its original form—his C-rank guild badge.
Stepping inside, he approached the receptionist and placed his badge on the counter.
"Good morning," he greeted.
The kind-looking receptionist, dressed in the guild's red uniform, looked up at Adrian. She had dark brown hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, with soft curls spilling at the ends. Her curvy figure filled out the form-fitting uniform, giving her an elegant, approachable air.
"Oh, yes. Good morning. You're here to register, I assume?" she asked with a friendly smile.
"Oh no, I'm already a member. I'm transferring from the Vatra Kingdom," Adrian explained, his tone unusually pleasant—like he was trying a little too hard to impress the receptionist.
"Oh? Ah, Vatra, huh? That's quite far. Well, as long as you have your badge, it should only take a few minutes," she replied. Her voice was polite—not the forced kind, but genuinely friendly.
Adrian handed her a wooden badge. The receptionist accepted it with a smile and placed it gently on a stone slab.
Adrian's brow furrowed slightly in confusion, and the receptionist caught it right away.
"This is a mana sensor made from Veyne ore," she explained. "Unprocessed, it can sense mana on its own. But when refined, like this one, it can detect specific mana signatures—like the one stored in your badge. You were probably with a guild that still verified mana manually, so it's totally fine that you're a bit confused."
"Ah, no, I know that," Adrian said, tilting his head. "Why are you explaining it?"
"Oh! I thought you didn't recognize it, so I, uh, I was just trying to help. I'm really sorry for insinuating you didn't know," she stammered, clearly flustered.
"It's fine, lady, don't worry about it. Just… get it done," Adrian said, trying to sound reassuring—but it came off awkward and stiff.
In truth, the reason Adrian looked confused earlier wasn't because of the mana sensor—it was because his thoughts had drifted to where he would stay now that the inn's owner was dead.
The receptionist quickly finished the badge scan and handed it back to him with a smile. Then, she placed a form on the counter.
"Just sign your name here and leave your fingerprint so we can officially register you as our member."
"Sure. Just, uh… what am I supposed to write with?" Adrian glanced around. There was no pen or pencil in sight—only a small, rusted gas lamp that looked like it hadn't been touched in years.
"Ah! Right, sorry—let me grab one for you."
She turned and disappeared through a door into what seemed like a lounge area. A few seconds later, she returned holding a tiny red pencil—so worn down it was barely a few centimeters long.
Adrian took it and scribbled his first and last name on the form.
"Alright, and how do I stamp it? Do you have ink or is it, like… with blood?" he asked, trying to make a light joke.
"With your blood," the receptionist replied with a serious tone—but her smile gave away the joke.
"Oh, okay." Without a second thought, Adrian bit his thumb and pressed it firmly onto the paper, leaving a clear, red fingerprint.
The receptionist's eyes widened. "Ah—sir! I was just joking. You didn't actually have to do that… I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have made that kind of joke."
"Yeah, I know, I took the joke too far… Well, I don't have to redo the form, right? I wanna grab some quests today," Adrian asked, scratching the back of his head.
"No, it's fine—hahaha," the receptionist chuckled. "The quests are over there." She pointed to the large board on the left, covered in papers and colorful pins.
"Kay, thanks!" Adrian replied with a cheery grin before heading off.
As he walked away, the receptionist's eyes lingered on him longer than she intended. She couldn't explain it, but something about him had gotten under her skin—a casual charm, maybe… or just how unexpectedly odd he was. She felt a small crush beginning to form, and it left her flustered.
"Hey, Annie, what's got you so deep in thought?"
Her coworker, Misha, with short purple hair that framed her face and ended just at her neck, gently shook her out of her daze. Misha's uniform stretched snugly over her strong, athletic frame, highlighting her toned legs and wide hips.
"Huh? Oh—ah, nothing," Annie replied, quickly looking away. She adjusted the ponytail of her dark brown hair as she tried to compose herself, her curvy figure shifting in the red uniform.
"Ohhh, is it a guy again?" Misha teased, eyeing her with a knowing grin. She clearly enjoyed pushing her friend's buttons.
"What? No! Why do you always say that, Misha?" Annie said, flustered. Her cheeks were tinged pink, which only made Misha smirk more.
Misha leaned over, eyes narrowing mischievously. "Is it that guy over there?" She pointed toward Adrian, who was browsing the quest board with focused curiosity. "Hmm, you've got a type, huh? He's kind of a hottie—from the back, at least. Wonder what his face looks like…"
Annie flushed an even deeper shade of red. "Misha!" she hissed, embarrassed. "Stop it!"
Misha only laughed, enjoying every second of her friend's embarrassment.
Adrian picked a quest from the board and walked back to the counter, his stride confident and purposeful. He approached the counter where Annie was still standing, the quest form clutched in his hand. Misha, seeing the interaction, walked into the lounge area, not wanting to bother Annie with her teasing anymore.
"Have fun with the hottie, girl," Misha said, her voice carrying just enough to make Annie's face flush. Misha disappeared into the lounge, leaving Annie to deal with the awkwardness.
Adrian made his way back to the counter, his eyes meeting Annie's as he placed the quest form in front of her.
"I'm gonna do this one," Adrian said, his voice steady but carrying a hint of quiet confidence. His gaze locked with hers, and for a moment, Annie felt a flutter in her chest. She quickly averted her eyes, flustered by the sudden intensity.
"Oh, um... yeah, sure," Annie replied, her voice a little shakier than usual as she glanced down at the quest form. She read it quickly, still trying to recover from the moment.
"This is a quest for troll blood," she explained, her eyes skimming the details on the paper. "You need to get 60 liters of it by next week, and..." She paused, looking up to make sure Adrian was still listening, and then she knelt down behind the counter, pulling a map from a drawer.
Annie carefully opened the map over the counter, the parchment rustling softly. She leaned forward, her ponytail swinging slightly as she spread it out for Adrian to see.
"The trolls tend to hunt in patterns," she continued, her voice now more professional as she explained. "From the top, on the east near the lake, they mostly hunt deer. But when they're desperate, they'll eat anything. They're omnivores, but they really love the taste of venison." She pointed at the map, indicating the area where the trolls were most likely to be found.
Adrian looked at the map, his focus entirely on her words. Annie didn't notice the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips, but it was there.
"So what about here, down the river?" Adrian asked, pointing to a spot on the map with a gloved finger.
"Oh, that's... ahh, wait, give me a sec," Annie replied. She kneeled back down behind the counter and rummaged through a small cabinet before pulling out a thick bestiary book. She opened it and quickly flipped through the pages, her brow furrowing in focus until she found what she was looking for.
"That area is a kobold nest," she said, placing the open book beside the map and pointing to a small mark. "They live in a cave right here. It's a huge colony—we believe there's a kobold king inside."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "A kobold king?"
"Yeah. It's a subrace of kobold—ten times stronger, faster, and smarter than a regular one," Annie explained. "A king's intelligence is about equal to that of a twelve-year-old. Which... isn't exactly genius level, but for a kobold? That's kind of a big deal."
She closed the book and placed it gently back behind the counter.
"Alright, well… thanks for the info. By the way, do you think I could buy that book off you?" Adrian asked, intrigued.
"Oh! I'm sorry," Annie said with an apologetic smile. "There's only one bestiary issued to each guild branch. They're over 500 gulden, and that's assuming you can even find one for sale."
"Figures," Adrian said, nodding slightly. "Still… neat book."
Adrian made his way out of the guild building and began following the main road toward the kingdom's outer wall. The walk was long, about an hour, but uneventful.