The Ark Town Adventurer's Guild was the loudest place in the entire city. The smell of spilled ale, the pungent sweat of fighters, and the clanging of weapons created an atmosphere thick with ambition. Inside, adventurers were busy; some were building teams, others shared tattered maps, while many feasted to celebrate successful missions.
Lysara walked directly behind Eins, her white hood pulled low. She despised the crowd. Her sharp eyes constantly scanned everyone they passed, her hand occasionally touching Eins's shoulder to ensure the young man remained within her protective reach. To her, Eins was the only point of light in this foreign world, and she would not allow anyone to touch him.
The pair walked toward the reception desk at the end of the hall. There, a small woman from the Gnome race named Ena Ask was busy taking notes. Ena had short, striking green hair and maroon eyes that always seemed alert.
"Oh, Eins! You're still alive, I see!" Ena exclaimed in a shrill Gnome voice as she spotted him.
"Of course, Ena. I haven't been eaten by a slime yet," Eins replied with a wry smile.
Ena had known Eins for a long time. Although his adventurer rank remained at Lead (the lowest rank for gatherers and supports), his contributions were highly valued. Eins wasn't a fighter, but he was an expert in gathering rare materials and providing accurate data on dungeon ecosystems.
"I'd like to register my partner, Lysara, as a new adventurer," Eins said, gesturing for Lysara to step forward.
Ena handed over a parchment registration form. Lysara stared at the paper in confusion. The letters looked like squirming worms to her eyes, which belonged to a millennium past. The written language had changed entirely.
"I'll fill it out for her," Eins said softly, taking the quill and writing down the details. However, when Eins filled in the 'Race' section, Ena's hand—which was holding a stamp—suddenly froze.
"A-Ancient Beastfolk?!" Ena yelped, her maroon eyes bulging as she looked at Lysara. "Eins, are you joking? This race is supposed to be—"
"Sshhh!" Eins immediately put a finger to his lips, signaling Ena to lower her voice. "Please, Ena. Keep this a secret. This is for the Guild's internal database only. In the public eye, she's just an ordinary Beastfolk, okay?"
Ena swallowed hard, looking at the tall figure behind the cloak with a mix of dread and awe. She finally nodded slowly and handed over an iron medal—the mark of an Upgrade rank (a trainee without a tier). "Alright... I'll take your word for it, Eins."
However, the tranquility didn't last. A laugh that Eins despised echoed from the entrance.
"Well, well... look who crawled back to the Guild. Our little bag-carrier, Eins!"
Eins closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He turned around to see the four people he least wanted to encounter in this world.
Leading the group was Sei Arfelt, an arrogant nobleman in polished steel armor with a long spear on his back. Beside him stood Salia Wise, a beautiful Elf with deep red hair wearing skimpy, provocative armor that barely concealed her muscular frame and a giant greataxe. Then there was Shallow, an orange-haired Gnome thief with a permanent sneer, and finally Asna Liz, a fox-kin mage with a curvaceous figure and long yellow hair.
They were Eins's former teammates. The team that had abandoned Eins in the middle of a forest without a single coin of pay, simply because they considered him "trash" who could do nothing but carry their luggage.
"Still hunting for spare change by picking herbs, Eins?" Salia mocked, resting her axe on her shoulder. "Look at you, still looking as pathetic as ever."
Eins remained silent, trying to stay calm even as his hands clenched inside his pockets. "I have no business with you, Sei. Move aside."
"Oh, look at you, getting brave all of a sudden?" Sei stepped forward, his face flushing with perceived insult. "And who is this tall woman? Did you hire a mercenary to protect you? You really are weak."
Lysara could feel Eins's suppressed anger, but what made her blood boil even more was the way they insulted the man who had freed her. The air around Lysara grew heavy. She hated how Sei looked at Eins as if he were dirt on his boot.
When Sei, irritated by being ignored, reached out to roughly grab Eins's shoulder, Lysara moved.
Srak!
Before Sei's hand could touch Eins, Lysara had snatched his armored wrist.
"Argh! What do you think you're doing?!" Sei screamed.
Lysara didn't speak. She simply increased the pressure of her grip. The sound of groaning metal began to fill the air. Sei's high-quality steel nobleman's gauntlet began to dent like paper under the sheer power of Lysara's fingers.
"Let go! Are you crazy?!" Sei shrieked in pain, his face turning deathly pale.
The entire Guild hall suddenly fell silent. Salia, Shallow, and Asna stood frozen, not daring to move as they felt the killing aura radiating from beneath Lysara's hood. They felt that if they took a single step, the woman would rip them apart in an instant.
"Lysara, that's enough," Eins said calmly.
Lysara glanced at Eins, the fire in her eyes dimming at his command. She released Sei's hand violently. Sei fell to the floor, clutching his right hand, which had already turned bruised and blue beneath the mangled armor. His wrist had come dangerously close to snapping.
"Let's go," Eins said, pulling a quest flyer from the notice board: Exploring the Ancient Ruins of Stormberg.
Without another glance at his shell-shocked former teammates, Eins and Lysara walked out. Sei glared at their retreating backs with burning resentment. "You'll pay for this, Eins... I'll make sure of it!"
The journey to the Ancient Ruins took several hours. Atop the horse, Lysara sat behind Eins, hugging his waist tightly. She could feel the lingering frustration in his body.
"Forgive me, Eins," Lysara whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I almost tore that lowlife's arm off. I just couldn't stand him hurting you."
Eins exhaled, gently patting Lysara's hand. "Thank you for defending me, Lysara. But in this city, we have to be smart about restraint. Your power is too great to waste on people like them."
"But you are my savior. To me, they have no right to insult you," Lysara insisted.
Eins gave a small smile. "Forget it. Let's focus on our goal. Stormberg is no ordinary place."
By late afternoon, they stood before towering ruins clinging to the mountainside. The structure was built of black stone eroded by time, yet it still pulsed with an aura of grandeur. Dilapidated statues of giant dragons greeted them at the entrance.
"Stormberg," Eins muttered, opening his notebook. "This used to be a sacred temple for ancient dragon worshippers. There are many hidden artifacts and knowledge here, but also many unsolved traps."
Lysara stared at the dark gateway of the ruins. She felt a strange familiarity with the atmosphere. "This place... I remember fragments of its history. This is where humans and dragons once made their pact."
Eins turned to her, his eyes sparkling. "Really? If that's the case, your knowledge will be invaluable, Lysara. Let's head in, but stay close to me."
Lysara nodded, pulling back her hood and letting her horns show in the gloom of the ruins. She stepped forward, ready to be the shield for the only human she trusted in this world.
To be continued...