As we left the guild, Tess walked very close next to me. She did this all the way back to the inn. In the end it was actually good she was there because I almost got lost on the way back to the inn. Telling her where I was staying she led me right back there.
Heading up to my room while she waited outside, I exchanged pleasantries with Mrs. Rachel. Quickly grabbing my sword I went back out to meet back up with Tess. But when I got outside there seemed to be a crowd gathering around her. I heard things like, "that's her” and “I can’t believe it” Looking at Tess though she seemed kind of annoyed by the looks.
When I got closer to her, she looked up and the light that was in her eyes seemed to return. Confused about why she would be happy to see me, I waved. Walking up to me she gestured to follow her and we went on our way. Apparently the north gate was in the opposite direction from the gate I came in two days ago.
When we got to the gate we showed the guard there our ID’s and went on our way. The forest Tess brought up was very close to the city.
When we got to the forest Tess said, “Ok from here forward you need to take the lead. I will help if something goes very wrong, but it is up to you to know when to run if there is a normal amount of trouble”
“Got it.” I got ready to head into the forest to find some wolves. After entering the forest it was only a minute or two before I heard sounds of animals. Sneaking closer and hiding in some shrubbery I found multiple gray wolves in a pack hunting. Knowing that it's possible that the number of wolves could be a problem, I threw a rock at the ground around them to hopefully disperse the pack. It worked and now three wolves rushed off in one direction to find what threw the rock.
I moved quickly after the three lone wolves, I quickly cut through all of them. All three died. Only after the quest was done did I realize that hunting seemed like second nature to me and how easily I had killed all the wolves.
“Wow, it seems like you're a natural,” Tess said, “Remember to get the magic stone from the corpses, and not that we need it today but there are often other parts of the monster that can be used by craftsmen. Jobs will ask you to grab those”.
It seemed that Tess was very well versed in the job of an adventurer. It actually occurred to me that Tess could answer some of the questions I had about the things I heard about over the last two days.
“Um, excuse me but could I ask you some questions?”
After asking Tess got a mischievous smile. "Of course. I would love to help my cute junior”
“Cute?” I said under my breath. Deciding not to worry about what she called me, I started with the question that most confused me, “what is a hero? Rebeca brought one up yesterday and I didn't have a chance to ask her or Jacob about it.”
“Oh, I had different questions in mind. Well I did hear that you don’t remember much. I'll tell you what I know. A hero is a person, who through achievement or divine right was awarded a hero’s title. There have been many in history. Just about a year ago, the holy empire of Rivia announced the ascension of a new hero, titled the Hero Of Ages. According to their scripture this particular hero is destined to save the world from something.”
“Huh”, the info about the hero seemed very interesting, but made me think that it would be best to avoid them at all cost. I don’t know why but i feel like destined for greatness would get in the way of the notes second instruction, to live a good life.”You mentioned titles during the explanation, and i saw that in Jacobs status, but what is a title.”
“This one is more my speed and I do know more. A title is an indicator of a specific action you have taken, or a unique ability you have. Some titles are common, meaning that anyone can get them if they meet the requirement, kind of like skills, while others are unique, like the hero ones. They give you some type of bonus as well like a new skill or a bonus to a stat or resistance.”
“Oh, if I may, do you have a title?”
Right after I asked, a large wolf came from deeper into the forest. It was pure black and its fur seemed to melt away. When it showed up Tess seemed very concerned. Just then time seemed to stop. The Wolf didn’t move anymore, the wind halted, but Tess moved like she was walking. She pulled out both of her two swords. One was pure black and the other was white. They looked unbelievably expensive compared to the old rusted sword I had. When she got close to the wolf both swords glowed a wired blue color, seeming to fill with power. She crossed them under the huge wolf's neck and cut off the head without hesitation. Suddenly time went back to normal and Tess was holding me close to her blocking my view of the now dead wolf.
“I never did give a full introduction. My name is Tess, the rank 1 adventurer known as the Azure Beheading Princess, and epithet the same as the unique title I hold.”
