Today was the last day Dyren would wait. He had no other choice but to take on an F-rank mission. It was annoying, but Dyren had to do it to raise his adventurer rank and increase their money. Mira ate a lot, and that consumed a large amount of expenses.
"Looks like no one's coming," Dyren complained.
It was already getting late. He looked around. Only a few adventurers remained at the guild, and one of them was the bald man who had previously caused trouble with Dyren.
Dyren sighed and started to stand up. He wanted to leave, but when he turned to the left, suddenly a girl was standing in front of him. Her eyes didn't look at him. She was fidgeting, touching her own hands as if she were confused.
"Ano…"
Dyren stared at the girl for a while before finally speaking. "What is it?"
The girl scratched her head, seemingly unsure of what to say. Seeing that, Dyren let out a long sigh. He felt like he didn't have much time. He wanted to leave, but the girl spoke again.
"Can I join?" she asked in a very soft voice.
Dyren immediately turned. "Join our party?" He was very enthusiastic. His eyes even sparkled.
The girl looked scared, but she nodded. Seeing that answer, Dyren was very happy. He held the girl's hands and hugged her tightly.
Her face turned red. "Aaarrrgh…" she let out a small scream.
Dyren realized it immediately, let go of the hug, and apologized. The girl stepped back in fear. Seeing Dyren keep apologizing made her feel bad.
"No… no problem!" she said softly.
Dyren sighed in relief. He smiled. He turned to Mira, asking the rabbit girl to say thanks. Hearing that request, Mira naturally didn't like it. She was once a Demon Lord. It was beneath her to thank a human.
"If you don't do it, I'll reduce your meal portions," Dyren threatened.
Mira immediately stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you so much, kind lady," loudly.
The girl waved her hand. "No. You don't need to do that."
The girl asked Mira to rise quickly. She didn't like that sort of thing. She felt they were mutually benefiting from each other. Dyren and Mira got a partner and could take a mission. She could do the same.
Although she had many options, unfortunately, none of them made her feel comfortable. The adventurers in the guild looked terrifying. Most of them were rough, except for Dyren's party, who had remained quiet from the start.
"Ano…" the girl seemed like she wanted to say something. "Can we do the mission tomorrow? I think it's too late in the day," she said.
Dyren looked at the window. The sky indeed was already a bit orange, but he felt this was fine. They only needed to hunt Thorneboars. Dyren had never met that monster, but he had read about it, and it was only a low-rank monster.
Dyren was confident he would win. He had reached the highest level he could achieve. Being defeated by a Thorneboar would be very embarrassing.
"I think we still have time," said Dyren.
Without another word, he immediately walked toward the guild's exit. Mira did the same, but while holding the girl's hand and pulling her to come along with them. Like it or not, the girl had to follow Mira and Dyren.
"Just trust me!" said Dyren confidently.
He glanced back for a moment and smiled at the adventurers inside the guild, especially the bald man. Then, Dyren turned back to face forward.
They left the place, but without realizing it, someone was watching them with ill intent. That figure even stood and started following Dyren from what he thought was a safe distance.
"You'll die, kid!"
***
It was already very late, and the sky had turned orange. Now Dyren, Mira, and Mara were near the forest. They were about to go in and hunt as many Thorneboars as they could. Dyren's plan was to kill around 10 to 20 Thorneboars.
"Are you ready?" Dyren asked.
Mara shook her head. "No. I think we should go tomorrow morning instead."
Dyren turned. Mara looked very pretty with her blue eyes and blue hair. Her height was only 1.58 meters. Very small compared to Dyren's 1.79-meter frame. From Dyren's perspective, Mara Hill looked like a child.
"You just need to come along. Let her do everything," said Dyren while pointing at Mira.
Mira was surprised. "Hah, why me? Weren't you the one who invited me? You should do it yourself. I won't help," Mira protested.
Dyren nodded. "Ah, fine. In that case, I'll cut your food portion by 20%."
Dyren walked toward the forest. At the same moment, Mira stepped forward and grabbed Dyren's hand. "I'll do it."
Dyren smiled. "Alright."
Mira and Dyren then walked into the forest. From Mara's point of view, this felt strange. Two new adventurers, still at ranks F and C. They shouldn't be this confident. As if they were veteran adventurers and monsters like Thorneboars weren't scary at all.
"Are they crazy?" Mara muttered.
If Mira was a rank C adventurer, maybe it made a bit of sense. Although, it still shouldn't because Thorneboars and C-rank adventurers were evenly matched. Either side could win, which was why the mission required three people.
It was designed so two lower-rank adventurers could lure the Thorneboar. At that moment, the C-rank adventurer could attack and kill the monster.
"Aren't you coming?" Dyren asked, looking at Mara.
"Wait!" Mara replied.
She then ran toward Mira and Dyren.
***
Dyren, Mara, and Mira had entered the forest. They were going to hunt Thorneboars, but without their knowledge, some other adventurers were following them from behind. Those people were grinning widely. This was all part of their plan.
"You're really going to do this?" asked one of the other adventurers.
The bald man glanced at him. His gaze was sharp. The adventurer who had just asked immediately looked down. He didn't dare raise his eyes at all.
The bald man looked toward the forest again. "If no one finds out, we won't be punished for murder. As long as…" the bald man gave a sharp stare at the others. "As long as none of you spill everything. If that happens, I'll kill you."
The others nodded. "We swear."