“Alright…” Kanade just simply went along, not that she could really do anything. He somehow knew that she had at least 10 silver; this did leave her with the st 10 and some change. She watched him come back with her quiver filled with regur arrows.

  “No need. I take and I give—nature understands.” He said it before Kanade could even think of thanking him. And Han couldn’t even be angry at the guy, he’s way too powerful for them. He can’t even bark up a storm or scream obscenities—since he’ll hear them. They quickly leave the premises; Henris did manage to add something before they rushed out.

  “Have a good life.” That final remark was absurd. They both brushed it off because he’s an ol’ wise elf and whatnot. Anyhow, their entire budget was cut in half after a single purchase. Though, one had to spend to earn, and that’s normal in this world.

  Kanade threw the bow over her shoulder; she already looked like an archer. The problem that Han foresaw was that their future was not exactly marketable; archers in general weren’t that sought after. They were good DPS, but no raid leader would choose them over a frontline tank. And him, well, he already knew he’s pretty much a walking casualty-to-happen—at least for now. He was hoping that stepping out of her comfort zone would push her into more danger, where he would get to shine. Regardless, the crowds began to increase in density, and the further they went into the middle-css district they began to thin out once more. The crowds of NPCs didn’t exactly matter to Han; they were annoying, nothing more. The main issue was when he’s in the crowd, he couldn’t tell who the pyers were.

  The adventurer’s guild of Higelsdale was quite a building. The words “expensive” and “posh” would probably surmise everything, and anyone must know about it. The white cement really stood out among the few wooden and majority brick buildings. Due to it being a tad heightened with a thick ptform, they needed to climb up a staircase to the entrance. Whichever developer designed it really wanted to grab everyone’s attention. For a building that’s supposed to accommodate in-house NPCs too, this pce seemed to appeal to pyers more than someone like Kanade. That aside, to Han, it mostly resembled some ancient Roman building, all that it needed were some iconic pilrs.

  Needless to say, it was warranted. If the main base of operations looked like Kanade’s shack, nobody would want to join in. However, the building wasn’t the thing that kept his heartbeat up; it was the huge amount of pyers surrounding, and probably spending time inside.

  Before their entry, the various adventurers, the races, sizes, and build, and the diversity was absurd. No citizen of this world would bat an eye at them weirdly, but Han saw a bunch of cretins hovering their fingers in the air, interacting with the menu in the open. The worst part was that nearly everyone here could easily kill him in a PK fight, and it wouldn’t even count as a PK; he was guaranteed about that.

  Being on Pochirin did give him numerous advantages compared to being on a literal mob; that was why he had to take the disadvantages with open arms, and that also meant he had to face the reality of being a unique-looking dog with bright, nearly glowing blue eyes and a bcker-than-bck fur.

  They entered the lobby without too much gncing, though only Han really cared about them. The lobby, despite the comforting name, was sterile. Han was one of the few that picked up on the detail that it was a vestibule rather than a lobby. Nothing worth overthinking about; he just had thought about it after being in varying NPC guilds, and the majority of them held the same idea. It was an interesting choice since it meant that there’s no waiting area. No seats. No rest. Pure business.

  The whole pce kept moving; however, once a clog happened, it was apparent. After entering the vestibule, Kanade hadn’t moved; they promptly took up some space near one of the walls. He doesn’t remember if Li mentioned to wait, she said she will meet them. If that’s the case, she’s taking a while. At least he won’t be bored;

  “I was here first, y’know.” A woman in decent armor said. Her sword, which was as long as she was, dangled just above the floor since it was attached to her back. That being said, despite that brutish appearance, she was acting quite childish. Stomping her feet and even kept pushing the other woman. Which was absurd since you couldn’t even py if you weren’t an adult.

  “It doesn’t matter. Who gets him first, does!” Another woman, with loose clothing and a staff that fit a mage, wasn’t pying along. Although seemingly being the calmer one, she was not backing down in whatever beef they were in.

  They were standing near the leftward wall of the vestibule. The wall had various framed papers. Upon a closer look they seem to be drawn profiles of individuals, and under each of them was a rectangur wooden box that stood out due to the clearance between it and the bulletin board, resulting in visible gaps basically hinting at a turning mechanism. Han guessed that it’s the partymate-for-hire board but really debated whether it was true; that would mean that they are fighting and are being public nuisances over an NPC. Aside from the eerie elf he had just met, he hasn’t found an NPC worth fighting over and, more importantly, for them to join them for a singur trip.

  Amateurs…

  “Oh, move! You haven’t been saved like I was! His glorious armor shining—a true knight that would serve a dy like me!” The fighter girl continued pestering the mage, who started fidgeting for some reason.

  “…He… he must be good-looking under all that heavy armor…” She whispered, barely audible enough for Han to hear it when he would have rather not have. Now, it became weird. As he was saying, someone in familiar armor was descending down a grand staircase, with someone that, at a gnce he could tell, was gruff.

  The man beside her had his hair short and gray, reminding Han of some military general the way he carried himself. Despite the initial guess, his attire was that of some business CEO. A bck suit that tightly hugged his aging frame, without any tie to note. His scrunched-up face contained eyes that didn’t exude content, and they were directly aimed at Kanade. Seeing how he’s with Li, he didn’t fret too much, and it didn’t seem like Kanade did so either. He moved once Kanade pnned to meet them halfway. Though before they could do so;

  “T-There he is!” The fighter woman screamed out. She seemed to have been frozen; the mage girl also simply stared at the approaching duo, her head akin to a camera swivel.

  Is he that well known… wait? Armor? Face?

  He couldn’t have face-palmed inwardly any harder. They were clearly gushing over Li, not knowing she’s a woman, though at that point he guessed that it didn’t matter. He didn’t care and, in fact, was happy that Li had some prestige, which could py in their favor. Mere moments before they could meet.

  “D-Do you remember me? I want to work with you again!” The sword-wielding one rushed to Li. Soon, the other followed.

  “No! He doesn’t want to! He’ll join my par—“

  “Shut the hell up! Stop loitering you E-rank scoundrels!” Surprisingly, the gruff man shouted at them. That seemed to have changed their attitude for a bit; they nodded and scurried off to the board wall once more. Han’s perception of him became better.

  Must be a good guy!

  “You!” He shouts with a chin jolt at Kanade. “Walk with me to somewhere more quiet…” His voice faded as he gnced at the people around them staring. Kanade nodded, and they followed them upstairs. The stairs led to a decently long hallway, with closed-off meeting rooms spread out evenly; he went inside the first one he came across.

  The room was cozy, with a table and two sofas facing each other. The first one to sit was the man; Li followed suit. The expensive sofa didn’t know what was coming; it creaked, and the leather could only screech under her weight. His eyes didn’t even blink at the absurdity, and then without waiting for them to sit;

  “Since I received Li’s recommendation, which does solve a lot of the paperwork and other menial things that my staff would’ve usually done. It doesn’t mean you can slip past and rush to your death whilst under my indirect supervision.” He leans his back into the sofa while expining.

  “So? What do you want me to do?” Kanade asked. Han would have loved to answer since he went through this a couple times. As exceptional as he thinks he is, he had never had the guildmaster accompany him to the test. The recommendation was to py quite a solo it seems. During this slight pause he couldn’t help but gnce at Li.

  She has yet to say a word.

  “A combat test with one of my receptionists.” He continued, but Han toned it out and wondered; does anyone know that Li’s a woman? Since it seems that she is to use it to her advantage, whatever it may be.

  “Mm.” She answered with a tiny nod. Upon receiving the confirmation, the man rushed to stand up, then it hit him. He paused with his hands still on his knees, his squinted eyes darted to her.

  “Speak up!” He shouted.

  “Yes!” They left the room and went downstairs, where the arenas were. Once again, they had a hall with numbered rooms, and he blindly rushed into the first one. He flicked a switch, lighting up the room with runes that needed a moment to heat up. During the trip, completely Li disappeared. Still didn’t change their situation and what must happen.

  The arena was just a mat with different yers of tied-up bamboo, stretched leather, and other things he doesn’t know of to absorb heavy falls. It encompassed the majority of the room; the dead space had cement benches to sit and a weapon dispy full of dummy weapons.

  This brought memories back to Han; he actually failed a couple of rank-ups before. They basically take someone with an equal rank, and then they have to fight. Levels aren’t worth much without the gear to complement them, rank was the same—a higher rank didn’t mean you were stronger inherently; strength entails experience and strategy. Something he adapted to quickly.

  Anyhow, he probably had to sit this one out. She hadn’t urged him to come in the arena so he watched from a distance. And besides he wanted to see what she was made of.

  The door abruptly opens and a young man walks in, “Sorry boss. Lunch break.” The sordid man continuously rubbed his belly in circles. Since Kanade was unranked, finding an opponent among the receptionists should have been easy.

  “I don’t care. Go fight.” With his arms interlocked, the guildmaster ordered.

  “Ah, yes.” He ruffled his brown hair, and with that, the smile that he just had disappeared. His demeanor changed; he straightened his slouch and postured with his chest up high. He brought his feet together, one in front of the other, with his arms by his side; he waited.

  Han didn’t think that meant much. Kanade wasn’t taking this easy either. If anything, Han was itching for her to fight someone strong, to feel the strength one can have; it might motivate her. Besides, he’s not sure how good she actually is. She was probably a case of experience over strength; those types have an edge, and with levels they will be stronger than the majority on an equal pying field. Han was the living proof, though a tad constricted now.

  Kanade seemed to have already strategized; instead of going long-ranged, her next option was two daggers. Seeing as how the receptionist simply stood in the arena weaponless, he will need to go in close to really fight.

  As she was approaching the ring, something slithered out of the receptionist’s right pocket. A thick brown rope—it was literally a rope, he was grabbing onto the knot at the end, using it as a grip point. The length had to be around a meter and a half since in his rexed battle stance, half of it was on the ground. While it was a weird choice, what was worse was that he came prepared. That meant that he had to walk around with rope in his sleeves. Han’s snout scrunched up from even thinking about it. He couldn’t help but bel him as a kinky weirdo.

  Like Han, she was quite obviously confused, though the pn of action didn’t change. Depending on how proficient he was, he could have blocked the bulbed dummy arrows mid-flight and closed the distance. Her mind raced; there was no sign that the fight had begun yet, no whistle, scream, or shout. The guildmaster hasn’t said anything since her opponent arrived, and that opponent, the receptionist, was really gring at her.

  Taking advantage of that uncertainty, she sprinted. Using her feline instincts and the flexible body that accompanied them to dodge a wide horizontal sweep aimed right at her neck. The haste she had abruptly stopped right before proceeding. Her short wingspan meant that she had to be near him. The gap of error was huge.

  The risk was not worth taking. She extended the distance between them with a single rge hop, adding a small one at the end in case he rushed in. Her gut screamed that something was wrong. There was no hint that he would even attempt to dodge any of her attacks.

  “What? You scared?” He ughed, whipping the mat with his rope. She focused on his stance, calm, smooth, and confident. Her mind couldn’t help but wander in the moment;

  Is that much stronger than me? Does he have a secret attack? Should I forfeit?

  The pressure boiled her. Everything started rattling in her brain until she saw tiny blue eyes staring at her; no anger, sadness, just hope.

  There’s no way for her to win in close combat unless she did something drastic, something unpredictable. Her shoulders rexed, using her stature to fill up her tiny frame as much as possible—and ran in. A vertical slice brushed past her as she turned sideways.

  —Thump

  Her dummy knives were concentrated into a single point where the receptionist’s heart would be. He didn’t even move at her sudden strike; they weren’t going to do anything either way.

  “Ptes.” He calmly said. A stuck her right forearm. Her hand trembled until becoming entirely numb; her grip was all messed up. The dagger was staying in her hand by hopes and dreams, aided by a shot of adrenaline. Without pausing—the neck. He dodged her criss-cross ssh, wrapping her left wrist with the rope whilst kicking away her right. One weapon down, and the other, she let go.

  What is she doing?!

  Han stared at the dummy dagger slowly fallling, his keen eyes watched a thin hand csp it mid-air. She managed to grab it with her right—the neck. Failed again. Before she could retreat, her breath got stuck in her throat. The ground under her feet faded. Out of the left sleeve, the receptionist revealed yet another rope that he countered her attack with.

  This kinky piece of shit!?

  That was far too much; he wanted her to taste strength, not to be cornered by it. This would only demoralize her if he goes any further. And further he went;

  “You’re weak! A pathetic little girl. Go back from whatever coddled household you come fr—“

  Heat. Searing heat that could boil someone ran through Han—Han’s vision blurred in a dazed rush. In a mere moment his heart went from being fluttered as he watched Kanade losing to the next, where he was being strangled by the guildmaster with malice to kill; he got what he gave. But the guildmaster—he was surprised. His gruff expression had to open up after that.

  “Cough… cough.” However, that wasn’t the only turn of events that happened in an instant. Kanade’s holding a sharp dagger at his neck, with the receptionist somehow coughing on one knee.

  “Is this… yours?” His words broke the silent tension. The grip on Han’s neck rather loosened to a point he was just floating in air.

  “Yes.” Kanade answered curtly without moving the dagger any further away from the receptionist’s Adam’s apple answered. The next second, the weight in guildmaster’s arm, the one that held Han, became heavy, and then even painful to hold due to the heat. To a point where he could barely hold him. In his eyes, something he hadn’t seen before attacked his receptionist and was now emitting steam right in front of him. Just a moment before, he estimated Han to be a puppy, was now at his hip’s height. And Han, well, Han could only smile at the red text before him;

  [MILESTONE ACHIEVED][1507 EXP GRANTED]

  [HOST - POCHIRIN(ADOLESCENT) → POCHIRIN(JUVENILE)]