Finn opened the letter Amelia had given him with the quest information as he walked alongside Darwin toward the bridge over the Great Cliff. It was 4:30 in the morning, the sun hadn't risen yet, but Finn and Darwin decided to leave early.
"So? What does it say?" Darwin asked, yawning.
"You know, the usual stuff. Highly coordinated goblins attacking adventurers from the shadows, sightings of hobgoblins and ogres cooperating together... and a strange goblin that can use magic. Nothing new" Finn replied, putting the letter away.
"Tch, can't the guild be more specific? I mean, it's always the same. 'Goblins were sighted in the forest across the great cliff,' but where the hell were they seen!? The forest extends into the lands of three different kingdoms!" Darwin exclaimed angrily.
"Yeah, they're never specific about locations..." Finn confirmed.
Finn and Darwin continued walking for hours until they reached a familiar fallen tree. The two stared in disbelief at the tree in the middle of the road, as in all this time no one had deigned to move it.
"Seriously, no one wanted to take the time to move it?" Darwin wondered, astonished.
"I think so. I mean, it's impossible no one has seen it. Some adventurers passed by here just a few days ago" Finn said.
Extending his hands, Finn struggled, pulling the tree with his telekinesis while Darwin helped him by pushing it. In the end, the two managed to move the tree to the side of the road.
"Ugh, it's still as heavy as before..." Darwin said, wiping his sweat. "But, why did you use your telekinesis and not your hands? Isn't it easier?"
"Actually, no. During the days I was training my telekinesis, I discovered that once you fully develop it, you can exert a force 1.5 times your normal strength" Finn said, surprising Darwin.
"Really? Why isn't that in the books?!" Darwin asked.
"I think they just didn't know… in fact, I think there's a lot of this magic they haven't discovered yet" Finn said, looking at the palm of his hand. 'I wonder if I can develop this ability to the point where I can move mountains? That's something I definitely want to do…' Finn thought.
"That's most likely true. After all, there are still many magics that are constantly being developed, and other magics that have been discovered and quickly abandoned. Although, remember what I told you, you have to have talent for certain magics, including advanced telekinesis" Darwin affirmed, believing Finn.
"I understand that, and that's why I haven't stopped training with my fire magic…" Finn said.
The two continued on their journey, as it would take them three days to reach the bridge over the great cliff.
—
At the Freewalker Guild, it was already 11 a.m. Damian was reviewing the paperwork Master Rohan had left him, as he did almost every day. Suddenly, a hand slammed on the reception counter in front of him.
They were a group of five adventurers, all in poor condition and with their clothes worn. Damian sighed, knowing who they were and what they wanted, as they had come to complain to him several times during the week. This was Finn's former team. The young blond man again angrily banged the reception counter, demanding an explanation from Damian, while the women looked irritated and angry.
"We demand that Finn return to our team!" Mark shouted angrily.
"I already told you it's not allowed" Damian replied irritably.
"Why can't it be?!" Mark asked angrily. "I'm sure if you bring him here and ask him, he'll agree to come back without a problem!"
"I already told you that's not how things work. Finn already has a team, and besides, you're already five members" Damian replied, frustrated.
"Nonsense! We've seen teams up to eight members in the guild!" exclaimed Aria, a black-haired woman with a large bow on her back.
"That's right, those groups do B+ class missions and above, but you only do C-class missions and you've failed almost all of them in the last two months" Damian replied.
"That's because we need Finn on the team!" shouted Jenna, a young woman with brown hair dressed in a mage outfit.
"Finn was the one who covered our backs. Without him, we'd just keep getting attacked by monsters without notice them!" exclaimed Emily, the younger girl with blonde hair and wearing light armor that was damaged.
"That's not our problem. You were the ones who decided to kick Finn out of your team to choose young Samuel, a hunter" Damian replied, pointing at the young brown-haired man behind the group.
"Ugh, I know that, but isn't there a way for Finn to rejoin our group?" Mark asked desperately.
"Sorry, but no. The rules clearly stipulate that C-class teams or lower must have fewer than five members so everyone can receive a fair pay. Also, you can't add a member who's already part of another group, like Finn, for example" Damian clarified.
"Tch, you're saying the same thing the other receptionist told us!" Aria exclaimed.
"Is that because of the rules, maybe?" Damian asked ironically, remembering how Amelia had told him that Mark and his group had already demanded Finn be returned to them.
"Whatever, we just have to find Finn and make him leave his group and join ours" Mark said confidently, but Damian denied it again.
"I'm afraid that won't work. Finn has made a permanent contract with his group, so he won't be able to separate from his partner" Damian revealed, surprising everyone.
What Damian had said wasn't a lie. When Darwin registered Finn as a partner, Amelia requested the transfer of the group under her supervision since she managed the two adventurers individually, and it would be easier if she also managed the group formed by both of them. By taking the group under her care, she used a loophole in the guild rules to change the contract from 'indefinite team' to 'permanent team' so she could keep them under her supervision.
"What? Since when can you do that?!" Aria asked angrily.
"Well, it's a rather complicated process since not only the adventurers have to agree, but also the receptionists who oversee that agreement. Plus, there must be a receptionist overseeing this group, and often the receptionists don't want to give up their adventurers. But in Finn's case, it's different. Amelia, his supervisor, is also the supervisor of the other team members and of the team itself, so there were no problems in making a permanent contract for that team" Damian revealed, leaving Mark's team speechless.
"So we can't get Finn back?" Emily asked again.
"I'm sorry, but no. The only way for you to be on a team with him again is for you to be accepted into Finn's current team. And knowing the receptionist, Amelia, there's no way she'll accept you because of the incident six months ago" Damian finished.
"What the fuck!" Mark replied angrily, banging the reception counter again, drawing the attention of some receptionists that were in the back of the reception area, including Amelia.
Amelia emerged from the back of the reception area, glaring at Mark and his group. She quickly changed to an angry glare as she approached Damian.
"What the fuck do you want now?!" Amelia asked aggressively. "I already told you Finn wouldn't be returning to your team, pussies!"
"Amelia, there's no need of curse" Damian said whispering
"Finn is an important member of our team; we want him back!" Jenna exclaimed.
"You should have thought about that more when you kicked him out!" Amelia replied. "Besides, do you really think I'd let him come back after everything you all did to him?!"
"That… was just a mistake. We apologize!" Emily replied.
"A mistake that was repeated more than five times? Do you really think I'm going to believe that?" Amelia said angrily.
"That wasn't our intention. We didn't want to hurt him!" Mark said this time.
"Didn't you? You used him as a fucking shield and left him to his fate after that!" Amelia complained even more angrily. "You're very lucky the master is merciful and allows you to stay in the guild! Now get the fuck out of my sight, before I put my feet in your ass!" Amelia said, shooing the adventurers away.
Mark simply hissed before angrily leaving with his team toward the mission board in the center of the guild.
"bunch of pussies…" Amelia said with a sigh as Damian put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Calm down. You know they can't be Finn's team anymore" Damian said, comforting Amelia.
"Sigh, you're right…" Amelia replied, rubbing her forehead.
—
Three days had passed since Finn and Darwin left; today they had just arrived at the large bridge over the cliff. Finn stopped to contemplate the large stone pillars that supported the enormous wooden bridge. The bridge was so large that several wagons of goods could cross it at the same time.
"It sure changes the atmosphere when you're not falling through the air" Finn said.
Finn and Darwin walked across the lonely bridge, which made them curious since everyone from adventurers to merchants was supposed to be crossing it at all times, as it was the only road connecting kingdoms. When they reached the other side, they could see that the main road showed slight signs of neglect, as the usual wagon tracks had been completely erased by the air and earth.
"It's very lonely for a main road between kingdoms" Finn commented, and Darwin nodded.
"Yeah, I don't like this feeling at all" Darwin said. "It's like It's haunted or something."
They continued walking for a few more hours. They wanted to reach a clean, treeless area so they could sleep peacefully. At dusk, the two arrived at what appeared to be a small lake, which Darwin looked at in confusion.
"Mph, I don't remember seeing a lake around here before... Is it artificial?" Darwin wondered.
"Artificial lake? How do you create a lake out of nowhere?" Finn asked, looking at the lake in front of him.
"Simple, water magic. Surely some powerful wizard with advanced water magic passed by here and wanted to cool off for a moment, so they created the lake" Darwin speculated.
"Do wizards usually do that?" Finn asked.
"They do from time to time, and only the most powerful, since not many can generate that much water from the air" Darwin affirmed. "It must have been Merlin. I've heard he likes to take breaks between his travels from kingdom to kingdom."
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
The sound of the leaves rustling in the bushes behind them startled them and they quickly became alert. Finn and Darwin stared at the bush, which continued to move for a few seconds, until a small blue ball emerged from the bush.
"What's that?" Finn asked, looking at the strange ball.
"It's a slime… well, that confirms my theory. Slimes are born from water created by magic and left stagnant for too long" Darwin said, putting away his sword.
"I see" Finn said, nodding as he put away his sword as well. He then approached to touch the slime. "It seems harmless."
"They are, or at least to us" Darwin confirmed, also touching the slime. "This little creature usually feeds only on leaves or branches since they can't dissolve flesh or bones at all."
"That's good" Finn said, picking up the slime. "It feels weird and it's very moldable… wait, give me a second" Finn said, putting on a big smile, causing Darwin to turn around.
"What are you going to do? Monsters aren't for playing with" Darwin said.
"Look!" Finn called. "I'm Amelia now!"
Finn had put the slime between his pants and underwear, and with his telekinesis, he shaped it to look like he had a huge butt.
"Ha, how do you shape it to make it look like a real butt?" Darwin asked, letting out a light laugh. 'This has a lot of potential...'
"With my telekinetic magic, now wait, give me another second…" Finn said, shifting the slime onto his chest, making it look like he had big breasts. "Now I'm Cristel!"
'If Cristel and Amelia saw this, they'd kill us' Darwin thought, laughing.
"This thing is very useful. How do you kill one of these things?" Finn asked.
"With fire, if I'm not mistaken" Darwin replied. "Why do you ask? I thought you liked it."
"Yeah, I liked it. I just want to avoid anything that could harm or kill it" Finn replied, as he molded the slime with his telekinesis until it looked like a whip. "No matter how much I stretch it?"
"It shouldn't. It's a slime after all. Even if you break it in half, it can still come back together" Darwin stated, making Finn nod.
"I see..." Finn said, then glared at Darwin maliciously.
Before Darwin could react, Finn swung the slime whip, whipping Darwin so hard that he winced in pain.
"Ahhh, asshole! That hurt!" Darwin yelled, trying to rub his sore back.
"This is definitely going to come in handy..." Finn said, ignoring Darwin. "Fly away, Darwin!" Finn yelled, using the whip to grab Darwin's foot and throw him into the lake.
"Shit!!" Darwin yelled, rising into the air and falling into the water.