The receptionist hurried into Master Rohan's room, unable to avoid the multiple trophies hanging on the office walls, especially the head of a griffon hanging just above the Master. The Master looked up curiously at the young receptionist and then saw the time on a wall clock, asking what the girl needed at 11:40 at night.
"Is something wrong, my child?" the Master asked with a sweetheart suffix, as he usually did with everyone in the guild, seeing the girl's agitation.
"Master Rohan, it's Darwin and Finn, they're back!" the girl exclaimed.
"Oh, so they're finally back!" The guild master said, relieved and happy. "Tell me, are they in bad shape or are they so agitated?"
"No, they're fine… technically. Just a few injuries" the girl said, causing Rohan to nod. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is what they discovered!"
"Oh, and what did they discover? Did they discover an ancient mural?" the guild master asked jokingly, since he hadn't known it could be so important.
"We think so!" the girl revealed, surprising the guild master this time. "Mr. Damian and the other receptionists are reviewing the photos right now on the first floor!"
"Take me there right away" said Master Rohan, immediately standing up from his chair and showing off his incredible height. He was so tall that he even had to duck when passing through doors.
—
Master Rohan followed the girl to the first floor, where he saw Damian and the other receptionists looking at the photos of the mural. The Master walked toward the receptionists, but something suddenly stopped him: a feeling coming from the bodies of Finn and Darwin, his animas.
The Master stared at the unconscious bodies for a few seconds before pushing away the distraction and approaching Damian, who was holding the screen with the photos.
"Damian, son, what have you discovered?" asked Master Rohan.
"We believe it's the creation story about three monsters: goblins, harpies, and man-horses" said Damian, handing the bracelet with the card to the Master so he could examine the images. "We also believe they discovered the reason for the goblins' strange behavior. They took several photos of some goblins who had the ability to use magic" said Damian, showing a photo where a goblin was casting a fire spell.
"I understand..." said the Master, quickly flipping through the images and then looking at Finn and Darwin again, their physical condition, which didn't look very good. "Take them to the infirmary. They were out for a month without proper treatment for their injuries. We have to take care of them immediately" said the Master seriously, as caring for his adventurers was the most important thing for a guild master.
The receptionists nodded quickly, taking Darwin and Finn down to the medical room downstairs, while the Master kept Darwin's card. He would examine it more thoroughly the next day in his office.
___
The next day, at 11:00 a.m., the Master was in his office. He had been thoroughly examining the photos on Darwin's card since 5:30 a.m. Damian was sitting next to him, making sure to write down anything the Master asked for in a notebook.
"They took down seven bases with goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres in each one; two horse-women, a minotaur, and not to mention the seven goblins who could use magic, one in each base. It's no wonder they haven't returned for a month; they've been very busy trying to solve the goblin mystery" said Master Rohan.
"They took the research very literally" added Damian, writing in his notebook.
"And they did a very good job. Not many adventurers do what they did without a big pay" said the Master, looking at the photos and how Darwin and Finn took care of the monsters. "They knew they couldn't win with brute force, so they decided to use strategies and exploit their abilities. I'm not surprised they increased their stats quickly."
"Very effective, if you ask me, Master" said Damian, and the Master nodded.
"How are they doing?" Master Rohan asked, wanting to know about Finn and Darwin's condition.
"They're still unconscious. According to the doctors, several of their wounds were cauterized by fire magic. I suspect it was Darwin since he's the only one who can use magic. They had several wounds around their bodies, from cuts and broken bones to signs of having been hit with different types of elemental magic" Damian reported. "The doctors said many of these fractures had been there for days."
"And yet they didn't stop until they wiped out the last monster base, although I wonder why they didn't use recovery potions" said Master Rohan, pleased with Finn and Darwin's performance. "Amelia confirmed they had potions?"
"Yes. Although we don't know why they didn't use them, we suspect they lost them somehow" Damian said, and the Master nodded.
"The photos they took are very good, but I can't get much out of them. I have to wait for those two to wake up to get more precise information" said the Master, looking at the ancestral mural in the photos. "As well as the exact location of the ancestral mural."
"The doctors estimate they'll wake up in the afternoon" Damian informed.
"Okay... we can wait. They've already taken care of the hardest part at the end of everything" said the Master.
—
In the infirmary, Amelia waited patiently in front of Darwin and Finn's beds. The Master had ordered her to supervise them until they woke up since he wanted to talk to them. Next to Amelia was Cristel, who had barely found out what had happened.
"They certainly did a great job. Grandpa is very happy with their performance" said Cristel, looking at the two unconscious.
"Sigh, I never expected them to do something like this…" Amelia admitted, sitting in a chair. "These idiots were only supposed to report what they saw, not fight entire monster bases."
Cristel heard Amelia complain with a smile. It was strange, but Cristel could feel that something had changed with Amelia since yesterday. It was as if she was finally opening up to her more, and she liked that.
"Don't stress so much, celebrate that these two adventurers are under your supervision. I'm sure you're the envy of the other receptionists right now" Cristel said, smiling as she approached to examine Finn and Darwin's torn clothes. "Besides, I'm pretty sure this was nothing more than a great adventure for them. They must have enjoyed every second of the fighting and action…"
While Cristel spoke, she examined Darwin's clothes, noticing various rips, dried blood, burns, and dust. But the most important thing was a small bulge she felt in one of the pockets, catching Cristel's curiosity, who without hesitation took out what was in the pocket.
"HA, they certainly had great adventures" Cristel said with a mischievous smile, showing Amelia a photo of a naked, black-haired centaur woman signed with her name and a piece of paper with her home address.
"These idiots ran into the centaurs!?" Amelia asked incredulously 'So how far into the forest did they go?'
"They must be the centaurs who were looking for the horse-woman that Finn and Darwin were taming" Cristel said, causing Amelia to nod in understanding how they encountered the centaurs.
"Sure, that makes sense" Amelia said.
"But to be honest, I'm surprised by what your adventurers accomplished, Amelia. Not even C-class adventurers have been able to do what they did, despite being stronger and more capable. I doubt they even have the balls to attack a monster base" Cristel said, touching Finn's chest and feeling his anima. "They have great potential within them... this is just a sample of what they can do given enough time."
"Do you think so?" Amelia asked, as she had never thought about Darwin and Finn becoming great adventurers.
"No, I know, I can feel it… and I'm sure Grandpa felt it too yesterday when he saw them" Cristel affirmed. Amelia simply sighed, not understanding what Cristel meant, as she had never paid much attention to the talents or potential of adventurers. 'This feeling… is enormous. I've never felt such a gigantic anima before. I can't even feel where it ends… if only I could have a bit of this potential… how much can they grow?' Cristel thought, astonished.
"Sigh, speaking of the Master, are you going to accompany him when he visits the ancestral mural?" Amelia asked curiously, but Cristel quickly shook her head, pouting slightly.
"No. Grandpa has completely forbidden me from going near any ancestral mural since the incident five years ago… how the hell did he want me to know that ancestral murals can't be moved?" Cristel complained angrily.
"I think that was pretty obvious. It's a stone fixed in one place for some reason" Amelia said.
"Tsk, are you on his side now? I'm not going to give you chocolate kisses anymore if you keep going against me" Cristel said, making Amelia blush. She quickly stood up to check that no one was nearby who might have heard Cristel.
"First of all, that was your idea. Second, why are you saying that like it's a punishment for me? Remember, you're the one who likes those things the most!" Amelia complained, whispering in front of Cristel, showing the clear height difference between the two. Amelia was only 5'6", while Cristel was 5'11" without wearing her 4" heels.
"Sigh, we've talked about this several times, Amelia. No need to be so hard on yourself. I know you love it. Otherwise, why would you keep so much melted chocolate in your house?" Cristel said, making Amelia blush even more.
"That's because you bring too much when you visit me and leave it there!" Amelia replied.
"Anyway… I heard Grandpa wants to change the receptionists' uniforms. Is that true?" Cristel asked curiously.
"Sigh, yes, but not just the Master. All the Masters from the other guilds want all the receptionists to wear the same uniform so they don't confuse visitors…" Amelia said, remembering Damian telling her about this.
"Oh, and what uniform do they want to use?" Cristel asked curiously.
"They haven't decided yet, but there are two that are very popular: the basic maid uniform or one more focused on the past tribes of these lands. You know, those tribes that used to roam around here almost 7,000 years ago, before the Seed of Life tree arrived on this planet" Amelia said, causing Cristel to nod.
"Of course… if I remember correctly, before terraforming and Magimachy, this place used to be called America by the ancient humans" Cristel said, remembering her history classes.
"Yes, and one of their past tribes was the Aztecs. The Masters want to show respect to this tribe and the Aztec gods, since several people blessed by those gods have recently appeared, especially that girl from the south, Yaci" Amelia said, and Cristel nodded in understanding.
"Yes, I heard about her in the Pink Alley. It seems she was blessed by several ancient gods of these lands. They say she's a beast fighting and a total beauty" Cristel said, knowing there were several rumors about this girl in the pink alley. "So you're going to be dressed just like in those times, huh? I think it's pretty good. I really like those clothes. Maybe I'll buy a suit and help you guys serve as a waitress."
The two continued talking for a while. Neither of them had anything to do. Amelia had been assigned to watch over Finn and Darwin, while Cristel was resting and had no missions to do at the moment. Time passed quickly, and at 5:00 p.m., the Master and Damián arrived at the infirmary, waiting for Darwin and Finn to wake up shortly.
Little by little, the two of them woke up, attracting the attention of the Master, who stood in front of Darwin and Finn's beds. After a few seconds, Darwin woke up, first seeing the Master in front of him, and then pretended to fall back asleep.
"We already know you're awake, idiot!" Amelia said, throwing a pillow from another bed at him, waking Finn up with her scream.
"Calm down, Amelia… I was just meditating" Darwin said, trying to sit up.
Finn also woke up when he heard the noise, looking at everyone gathered in the room and the room itself.
'How did I get here?' Finn thought, then looked at the Master and Cristel. 'Who are those?'
"HAHAHA, I see you're already awake, kids!" the master exclaimed, laughing. "You sure took your time."
"How long were we asleep?" Finn asked curiously.
"17 hours" Damian replied, and then Amelia spoke up.
"Finn, Darwin, we know you just woke up, but Master Rohan needs to ask you some questions about your mission" Amelia said, causing Finn to squint.
'Master Rohan!?' Finn thought, surprised, recognizing the name. Then he turned to look at Cristel. 'That's Cristel's grandfather's name. Does that mean that girl over there is Cristel?! Of course… how did I forget? If Darwin is the boy who dies and is discovered by Vana, that means Vana and Cristel are in the same era as us!' Finn thought.
"Of course, you've never seen the Master before" Darwin said, seeing Finn's astonishment, thinking he was surprised to see Master Rohan in person. "It's no the big deal" Darwin said.
"Darwin!" Amelia scolded him.
"Oh, of course, how did I forget?!" said the guild master, remembering that he had never seen Finn since he became conscious. "Finn, I am Rohan Stronghold, your guild master, and this here is Cristel Stronghold, my granddaughter and a powerful B-class adventurer." The guild master introduced himself, and Cristel nodded, smiling at his side.
"Nice to meet you…" said Finn, nodding his head. 'Cristel is still B-class, and she looks very young. There might still be time before the war starts… I hope so. I don't have enough strength to fight in a war full of C- and B-class adventurers.'
"Okay, let's get to the important stuff…" said the guild master, and a screen appeared in front of them showing a photo of the ancestral mural. "Where did you find it?"
"…if I remember correctly, the villagers said the forest was called the Forest of the Fallen or something like that" said Darwin, remembering when they arrived at the small town just after leaving the forest.
"What the hell were you doing in the Fallen Forest?! You were supposed to go to the southern forest, the one before crossing the bridge over the great cliff" Amelia yelled angrily.
"Yes, we did... then we ran into a horse-woman who charged at us through the forest, and then we fell off the cliff" Finn clarified.
"No wonder most of the path was covered with fallen trees..." Cristel said.
"And then we met some centaurs…" Darwin continued, but then he remembered the photo and started looking for it everywhere. "And my photo? I lost it!" Darwin exclaimed, worried.
"Calm down, crybaby," Amelia said, throwing him the photo and the sheet of paper with the address. "We found it in your clothes."
"Ufff… I thought I had lost it" Darwin said, relieved.
"Focus, guys. What else did you see?" Damian asked.
"Oh, sure. After the centaurs took the horse-woman, we went into the forest for a day until we found a group of goblins talking about a bounty and a witch. We didn't know what they were talking about, so we decided to investigate further and follow them quietly" said Finn.
So, Finn and Darwin recounted everything they had experienced and seen on their mission, while the Master listened attentively and Damian wrote it down in his notebook. The conversation lasted more than two hours, as the Master often asked them questions about the monsters and their behavior. Darwin and Finn didn't hesitate to answer and share what they had discovered, making the Master understand that he, like the other guild masters, truly knew very little about what had been happening in the forest in recent months.
"I understand, but you still couldn't find out how the goblins obtained their intelligence and magic, right?" The Master asked, and both shook their heads.
"No, we only managed to get information from some goblins about more monster bases on the other side of the bridge over the great cliff. We didn't go deeper since we didn't know what types of monsters were there" Darwin said, and the Master nodded.
"So, more bases on the other side… well, you did a great job. Even though you couldn't find the reason behind the monsters' strange behavior, you did find evidence that the goblins aren't acting normally, and there's also the discovery of an ancient mural" the Master said, more than satisfied. "Plus, you found a slight clue we can follow."
"Well done, guys" Damian said, closing his notebook, indicating that they now knew everything they wanted to know.
"So, the mission is over?" Finn asked, and the Master nodded.
"That's right, you completed the mission and more" the Master said. "Rest for the rest of the month."
"Do you want me to go investigate the forest, Grandpa?" Cristel was offered and the master shook his head.
"No, the massive hunt mission is approaching, and you have to get ready to go" said the Master, and Cristel nodded. "Besides, this is a mission for explorers, not warriors" said the Master, confusing Damian.
"But Master, we don't have explorers..." said Damian, confused.
"Now we do" said the Master, pointing to Finn and Darwin. "From now on, they will be our explorers. We expect a lot from you, children" said the Master before leaving the room, signaling for Damian to follow him.
Crsitel watched her grandfather leave, believing this was a good choice. Then she looked at Darwin and Finn with a big smile, which left Finn confused.
'Is this the same Cristel as in the novel?' Finn wondered, seeing Cristel's radiant and positive attitude. 'In the novel, Cristel is described as a very loving person with her acquaintances, but also as a serious, unsociable, and even depressed person. This Cristel seems the opposite. Her simple way of standing radiates confidence, and her smile makes her seem very approachable… maybe I'm not in the same world as the novel, but a very similar one' Finn thought.
"Good work, loves, you've certainly proven yourselves capable and deserve to be called adventurers!" Cristel said.
'It definitely can't be the same Cristel' Finn thought, convinced.
"I have a question..." Darwin said, looking at Cristel and Amelia. "Does the fact that we're explorers now mean we'll be visiting the other bases?"
"Sigh, I'm afraid so" Amelia replied, sighing tiredly. "Now you have the obligation to go to the other side of the bridge and explore the area" Amelia affirmed.
"Yes, as explorers, you have to identify how many bases there are, enemies, potential dangers, among many other things!" Cristel clarified, "and if possible, take care of everything."
"What? Why us?!" Darwin asked again.
"Because you're explorers," Cristel replied, as if it were the most obvious thing. "Cheer up. Now that you have a job, and a very good one, your journey as adventurers officially begins… Plus, with that job, you won't have to do quests in the capital, or at least not as many."