Finn and Darwin reached the entrance of the cave, where they battled for about three hours until they were finally able to clear a path and exit the forest. The two walked through the vast forest, aimless, hoping to find their way by chance. Their bodies were bruised from the constant fights and blows they'd received over the past few days. Darwin had taken off his leather chestguard, feeling it was too heavy; he didn't know if it was due to fatigue or the loss of strength from his injuries. The two continued walking until they came to a rather familiar stream; it was the stream they'd been in before encountering the goblins.
"Well, at least we've made it this far. If we continue in this direction, it might lead us to the forest exit" Darwin said confidently.
"At this point, I want to go back to the cliff and climb it!" Finn exclaimed.
"Calm down, Finn. If we follow the stream, we'll most likely find a town or something. Don't you know that where there's water, there's civilization?" Darwin said, trying to convince Finn, who just looked at him with a tired and resigned look.
The two walked along the stream for three days without stopping, being attacked several times by harpies, hobgoblins, and a bear. Finn and Darwin showed a much more tired and discouraged expression; their feet ached and their arms were covered in scratches, but they continued walking without pausing for a few more hours until they reached what looked like a fairly well-maintained dirt road.
Swish!
The sound of moving air informed Finn that something was approaching from the sky, causing him to sigh wearily and patiently draw his sword. Turning to the sky, he saw a harpy approaching at high speed. Finn simply waited calmly, and when the harpy was about to reach him, he dodged it and, swinging his sword lightly, cut the harpy's throat, leaving it writhing on the ground as it choked on its own blood.
"Sigh, I've got the hang of this" Finn said, putting away his sword. After three days of being attacked by harpies, Finn had memorized their attack patterns. "I feel like I should feel sorry for them now that I know where they came from, but after three days of being attacked by these things, I can't feel anything for them anymore."
"I understand you..." Darwin said with a tired expression, but when he saw smoke in the distance, his expression quickly perked up. "Is that smoke?!"
"Smoke?..." Finn asked, turning to look at the smoke. "HAHAHA, a civilization!!!" Finn exclaimed, running towards the smoke.
The two ran as fast as they could toward the location of the smoke, and after a few meters through trees and bushes, they saw a small village in the distance. Neither of them hesitated and ran out of the forest under the watchful eyes of the guards who were guarding the village gates.
"Hey... There aren't any reports of adventurers entering the Forest of the Fallen, right?" asked a guard, still watching Finn and Darwin approaching.
"No... I don't think so. There's no one in this village skilled enough to want to explore the forest" replied the guard.
"Hey!" Darwin shouted, running up while waving his hand.
The two arrived in front of the guards, who looked at them curiously at their worn appearance.
"Sigh, you don't know what a relief it is to find a village after all this time!" said Darwin.
"You were in the Forest of the Fallen? Are you adventurers from another town or city?" The guard asked.
"Yes, we're from the capital of Firorn. We're from the Freewalker Guild!" Finn replied, thinking the guards would help them.
"Adventurers from the capital?!" The guard asked, surprised and at the same time relieved. "Come in, come in. The town chief would like to talk to you. He's at the tavern right in the center of town. It has a cat painted on the door."
The guard pointed in the direction of the tavern. Finn and Darwin quickly thanked them and proceeded to the tavern without giving it much thought, as the chief wanted to see them. The two quickly arrived at the tavern, as it was a relatively small town. Once they entered, they saw that the tavern was full. It seemed everyone in town had gathered there. The civilians looked dejected and sad, while the guards, or anyone else carrying a weapon, looked disappointed as they treated various wounds.
Everyone turned to look at them as soon as they entered. Their disheveled appearances were very striking. A short-haired old man sitting at the tavern bar turned slightly to look at them. His face showed curiosity about Finn and Darwin, as he had never seen them in the village.
"You're not from here, are you?" the old man asked with a slight smile. "Did you end up here when you were attacked by forest monsters while on a quest from another town?" the old man guessed.
"Something like that... We're adventurers from the Freewalker guild in the capital. We fell off the cliff and wandered into the forest south of here for four days" Finn revealed, pointing in the direction of the forest.
Darwin simply nodded as he raised his hand, revealing his guild card on his armband, impressing all the villagers in the tavern.
"Adventurers from the capital!" a relieved woman exclaimed, a few tears beginning to form.
"The gods have heard our prayers!" a weeping old man exclaimed.
"We're saved!" a young woman cried happily, jumping up and down.
The villagers began to cry with joy as they celebrated Finn and Darwin's arrival. The villagers pulled Finn and Darwin to sit next to the old man, who was the chief of the town, while one of the tavern workers went to prepare them some food.
"You're really adventurers from the capital, aren't you?" the hopeful old man asked, to which Finn and Darwin nodded, not understanding what was happening.
"That's right. You know which direction the capital is, right?" Darwin asked.
"Yes, it's right across the forest east of the town, about a three-day walk from here" said the old man.
"Three days east? That means we're in the town, crossing the forest where we carried out our last mission!" said Darwin.
"Yes, we're not far" affirmed Finn.
Finn and Darwin showed big smiles, since that meant they weren't far from the capital.
"Then we just have to cross the border forest that surrounds the capital" said Darwin, relieved, to which the old man nodded.
"You don't know how hard we've been trying to get to the capital. We've been trying for almost a month, but all our efforts are in vain" said the old man sadly.
"You can't get there? What do you mean? The forest should have a direct path to the capital for quick access" said Darwin, confused. "Is there something blocking the way?"
"Yes! You see, a month ago we received reports from the capital about strange goblin behavior near the bridge over the cliff, but we didn't pay much attention since the goblins here were still exactly the same and we only reported a few minor incidents, but just two days after receiving the message the goblins started acting strange, they even attacked the town directly" said the old man covering his face with his hands. "If only we had listened we wouldn't have lost so many guards!... We don't know what to do anymore, the goblins built a base right in the middle of the road and their numbers seem to grow every day. We have no way to get past them and their attacks on the town are becoming more frequent."
'That's why we haven't received any reports or quests from any of the neighboring villages. The damn goblins are blocking the roads, and adventurers never venture into the woods unless they have a quest' Darwin thought worriedly.
'Shit! And we thought we'd cleaned the forest well!' Finn thought angrily, remembering his last mission.
"Please help us. I don't think we can hold out any longer. Our guards are all hurt, and our people can't fight. We're a peasant village" the old man pleaded.
Finn and Darwin remained silent for a while, knowing there was a high probability that the goblin base in the forest was as strong as the one in the cave. If the forest goblins were also acting strangely, it means they probably also have a goblin witch organizing them and teaching them how to attack.
Finn looked at the glass of water in front of him and, taking a big gulp, looked at the old man with a smile.
"Don't worry, we just took care of a goblin base in the southern forest. Just give us a room, two swords, and let us rest for a night. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave for the base" Finn said confidently.
"That's right, old man. We still have to stop by to get to our guild. You guys stay safe in town for about three more weeks. After three weeks, someone will come and let you know everything's okay" Darwin said confidently.
'Damn! We're not out of this one, and we're already in trouble again,' Finn thought angrily, but still smiling.
'I want to turn into a monkey, Why the hell did I become an adventurer?... Oh yeah, for the mytts,' Darwin thought, also angry, but firmly accepting his fate. 'I'll endure anything for them.'
—
'I knew it!' Amelia thought, frustrated and worried. 'I knew I shouldn't have agreed to let them go on that mission. Several C-class adventurers had been injured in the goblin attacks. Finn and Darwin are only D-class, they hadn't been fighting monsters for more than two months before leaving on the mission!'
Amelia paced back and forth in her office, worried. It had been a month since Finn and Darwin left, but there was still not the slightest sign of them. Even though the mission had no time limit, the fact-finding missions never lasted more than two weeks.
'What if something happened to them, what if...' Tears began to form in Amelia's eyes as she scratched her head desperately.
After a few seconds, Amelia managed to calm down and left her office with a determined look. Amelia headed to the Master's office to report for the second time that Finn and Darwin hadn't returned from their mission yet. Upon entering the Master's office, she saw the Master sitting at his desk signing papers.
"Amelia, my daughter, what brings you here?" the Master asked curiously.
"Master, it's just that... my adventurers still haven't returned from their fact-finding mission" Amelia said.
"They still haven't returned... it's been a month since they left, right?" The Master asked, stopping writing and starting to tap his fingers on the desk. 'A week ago, Amelia informed me about her adventurers… I thought it was just a delay, but today it's been a month… I hope I didn't make a mistake by assigning the mission to just anyone' the Master thought, getting a slight idea of what could have happened with Finn and Darwin.
"Master, don't you think it's time to send someone to look for them?" Amelia asked, stuttering.
"Calm down, daughter. Let's have a little hope for your adventurers… let's give them three more days before jumping to those kinds of conclusions" said the Master, trying to calm Amelia.
"Okay, Master…" Amelia nodded, leaving the Master's office.
The Master stared at the paper in front of him, thinking about the possibility that his adventurers had died due to misclassifying a mission. Minutes later, Cristel entered the Master's office, discovering that something wasn't right.
"What's wrong, Grandpa? Something's bothering you" Cristel said.
"Sigh, it's just the fact-finding mission... maybe I misclassified it, and now two adventurers are dead" the Master confessed.
"Amelia's adventurers, right?" Cristel asked.
"Yes... you know her, Cristel. How's she feeling?" the Master asked, since he didn't feel comfortable enough to talk to Amelia.
"It's complicated... I've tried talking to her for the past few weeks, but nothing seems to work. She just avoids me" Cristel said, sighing tiredly. "Grandpa, do you really think they..."
"It's very likely. This mission was supposed to be for research only, not combat" said the Master, causing Cristel to nod.
"I understand. I'll try to comfort her. She's my friend, after all…" Cristel said, but she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although I don't think they're dead."
"Why do you say that?" asked the curious Master.
"When I was coming back from my mission a month ago, I saw the two of them" Cristel revealed, surprising the Master.
"Oh, and how did they look? Were they in good condition?" asked the curious Master.
"They looked incredible, like true adventurers!" Cristel said with a smile. "The two of them were taming a horse-woman with their bare hands as they jumped off the cliff. Even Rodrick looked at them approvingly!"
"Is that so?... So maybe they're really still alive" the Master said with renewed hope.
...
Two days passed again, and there was still no news from Finn and Darwin in the guild. Damian was sitting at the reception counter next to Amelia. Damian couldn't help but notice that Amelia was much calmer than usual and had a distant look on her face.
"Still no news from them?" Damian asked, and Amelia shook her head.
"No..." Amelia replied.
"How much extra time did the Master give for them to show up?" Damian asked.
"Three days… it's already been two" Amelia said.
Damian sighed, knowing he couldn't do anything to cheer Amelia up, and that it was highly unlikely they'd arrive in these few days, or even that they'd arrive at all.
Damian simply resigned himself to continuing to work, trying not to upset Amelia any further. Damian looked out the reception window, noticing that it was cloudy with a high chance of rain.
'This weather isn't helping at all' Damian thought.
Hours passed, and the adventurers slowly began to head home or to their rooms in the guild. Soon, night fell, and with it, a heavy rain.
Amelia, along with other receptionists, was cleaning the tables at the guild entrance. These tables are usually used by groups of adventurers who want to discuss a quest while eating, or simply don't want to go all the way to the dining hall, as Finn and Darwin used to do.
"Amelia, I think it's better if you go to your room. I can finish…" Damian started to speak, but the loud slam of the guild doors opening interrupted him.
Two completely soaked and battered young men stood at the guild entrance, surprising all the receptionists. Their clothes were torn and worn, showing bruises all over and several wounds on their arms, legs, and chest. These were Finn and Darwin, who had finally arrived at the guild.
"We've arrived!" Darwin shouted triumphantly.
"Ugh, I'm so done!" Finn complained.
Finn didn't delay and walked over to a table where a glass of water was placed. He downed it in one gulp, then lay down on the table, tired. Darwin followed suit, throwing his card on the table and lying down on one of the benches. The receptionists stared at Finn and Darwin in disbelief, as no one expected them to arrive in the middle of the stormy night.
Snap, Snap, Snap
Darwin snapped his fingers and then pointed at the card, indicating that they should take it. One of the Damians curiously took the card, while Amelia hurried over to check on Finn and Darwin's condition.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" Amelia complained, seeing the injuries on Finn and Darwin's bodies.
"Just... check the fucking pictures... I'm going to get some rest..." Darwin said, falling asleep just like Finn.
"These idiots disappear for a month and then come back all messed up!" Amelia said angrily, but soon after, she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief that they weren't dead.
Amelia left the two lying on the table as she approached Damian, who was putting the card into his silver bracelet. They were both curious about what Darwin wanted them to see. Darwin's status window popped up in front of them, along with another window.
Name: Darwin
Race: Human
Class: D
Gifts: Light
Blessings: None
Strength: E+ > D
Agility: D+
Durability: D > D+
Magic: D+ > C
U.P.: None
Abilities: Body Enhancement (Low)
Natural Magic: Fire (Low), Earth (None), Water (None), Air (None), Sound (None)
"Three of their statuses increased in just one month… what the hell did they do?" Damian asked, moving to the other window, leaving them shocked by what they saw.
"That's a lot of porn" Damian said incredulously.
"Um… let's keep looking," Amelia said, slightly blushing. There was a photo of her when she had modeled for a magazine.
Everyone continued looking at the photos with a slight blush until they got to the photos of dead monsters and what appeared to be some bases. But the most important thing was the photos of a mural, which were the highest-quality photos they could see. Darwin had gone to great lengths to take those photos. Once they discovered what was on the mural, everyone's mouths dropped open.
"I'm going to call the master!" a receptionist said as she ran off to the guild master's office.
"Just look, they're gone for a month and come back with an ancestral mural" Damian said, amazed. "Apparently the Master was right after all, right? They came back with their hands full."
"Yes, the Master was right…" Amelia affirmed, smiling as she watched Finn and Darwin sleep.