United in Hatred Arc: Chapter 18.
◆ [ Do not turn around, head to your right, and take the alternative exit. ] ◆
Bricks suddenly notified, confusing Winter, who had just paid the last final adventurer's league registration fee and finally received his bronze plate. He wore the plate with pride, neatly folding and pocketing the official form for his party.
"What are you talking about?" Winter said, raising a brow, then turned around. In an instant, he regretted not listening to Bricks. The one who broke him out of his fantasy and made him realize the sheer ruthless competition in this world.
Feledil DeBestEye was greeting a random adventurer, giving a soft, innocent smile. The three women behind him were closely following, while their faces were full of blush.
Winter recognized Fae Baller and Alluna Allat but failed to recognize the third woman, who was just as smitten.
The third woman had two daggers on her waist, clearly a rogue-type adventurer. She had blonde short hair with a bang covering her left eye. She wore simple leather armor, but with an open window in her cleavage.
Winter felt his anger boil; he wanted to bring them down right here and now. However, he remembered Claudia's words that revenge is a dish best served cold. He sighed and went the other way, but Feledil had already noticed him.
"Y-you... You're alive?" Feledil DeBestEye said, eye twitching. He was about to smirk until he realized that they were both in the Adventurer's League Base Hall. An audible clicking of his tongue was heard, clearly miffed.
"What sort of lies have you been telling the league? Let me remind you, I am a gold-tier adventurer while you're just a lowly bronzy." Feledil thinly whispered while the three women's expressions turned serious, glaring like hungry wolves.
Alluna stepped forward with a grin. "Anything you say without proof is conjecture."
Fae snickered. "Adventuring is extremely competitive; you can't succeed without learning a few lessons."
◆ [ Emotional instability is rising. Leave. Now. ] ◆
"I haven't said anything, and besides, I don't lie," Winter said, heading through the other exit and de-escalating the unexpected confrontation.
A silver-tiered job post was pinned in the job board. Winter quickly snatched it without looking, still fuming.
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"Didn't you guys say that he might be a noble?"
Alluna Allat chuckled. "Antoinette. He's not a noble. I've made some inquiries, and his family name is unheard of. He may have some heroic bloodline, but it's most likely a bastard one." She added while adjusting her eyeglasses.
"He won't do shit. He's a pathetic rival." Alluna whispered while holding Feledil's tightly clenched left fist.
"He's not a rival, just a nauseating pig," Feledil said with bloodshot eyes, his mind was wracking for solutions on how to solve this problem. A loose end like him was problematic and dangerous if left unchecked.
(I thought I left him for dead. If word gets out, my father may intervene. That piece of shit should've stayed down.) Feledil mused before glancing at Antoinette. An idea rushed through his head, making him grin.
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Winter screamed in frustration, kicking a bench. "That stupid piece of dung. I'll gut him when the time comes." He then read the job post that he snatched, which was a shadow wolf manifestation extermination request.
At the bottom of the request was the suggested minimum number of adventurers required to complete the job. "Six adventurers. A whole party, almost."
*Bump!* "Ey! Watcha reading?" Claudia Osser appeared behind Winter, bonking his head with a hardened loaf of bread.
Claudia's expression lightened. "Damn, I didn't expect it to be solid; that was a loud thunk."
"I bumped into them. The Night Generals. They're currently in the base hall." He added, keeping a cold glare while staring at the job request.
Claudia's expression darkened, the smile quickly fading away.
"I left as soon as they started taunting me," Winter added before finally turning towards Claudia. He was surprised by her expression. The blank, heavy eyes didn't complement her cheerful appearance.
"Good, we'll have our revenge sooner or later," Claudia said as her expression returned to normal. "A job post? Want to go at it together?"
"No, I need some alone time to relieve my stress. I can handle this job post." Winter said, cracking his neck.
"You're strong, like very strong. I won't be surprised if you surpass me in power in a few months, but are you sure? I don't want to tend your wounds again."
"Why don't you temporarily join a group? There are quite a lot roaming around."
"Yeah, I think I might team up. I'll also make sure to buy some treats after I am done with this job. It'll be one of my small ways of gratitude for saving my life and giving me some shelter."
"Ah, shucks. You don't have to." Claudia said, blushing while snickering. Her expression then snapped into something serious. "Make sure to buy some mint jelly donuts and some small fruit balls." She said while also blushing again.
"You don't have to, but you're so generous." She said while holding her cheeks and closing her eyes.
(Ehhhh... She really is a treat, goblin, just like Mr. Stenenem said.) Winter thought, agreeing to buy some jelly donut treats.
"Also, a unit commander will arrive soon. Make sure you're not very busy tomorrow." With that, she gave a light tap on Winter's shoulders and walked away. "Don't take too long."
Winter waved a small goodbye and then looked around, spotting a group of bronze adventurers having a conversation near the small fountain in front of the Adventurer's League entrance.
He approached the group with a huge smile.
(Maybe these are good, hard-working adventurers.)
Unbeknownst to Winter, someone was watching from afar, invisible to the eye. The air lightly shimmered as the stalker then moved to a different spot.
The stalker watched as Winter started a conversation with the group. The group warmly greeted him when they noticed the bronze plate hanging from a chain around his neck.