“Boy? Did you say you wanted to register as an adventurer?” A middle-aged woman, dressed in a fashionable vest and bowtie, peered down at the young child of twelve or thirteen.

 

The boy wore a simple and dirty white robe and carried an oaken staff as long as he was tall. He was average looking with two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. To put it simply, he was just too normal looking. The only distinctive feature was his dark green and brown hair.

 

“Are you sure you want to register? If you fail, you would have to wait another year in order to retake the test.” The female receptionist repeated.

 

The woman was right. Although the minimum age for a person to register as an adventurer was twelve, few do so. After all, the test one needed to take in order to qualify was no joke. Even teenagers have trouble completing the trial. For the boy to take it at such a young age was not worth it, especially when the cost of the test was one whole gold coin.

 

A gold coin may not seem much to the average adventurer; however, for ordinary citizens, it was a month worth of wages. Judging from the boy’s clothes, the receptionist assumed him to be from an ordinary family. Where would he get the money from? It wasn’t right for him to waste his parents’ hard-earned money like this.

 

The boy looked up over the counter at the female receptionist and wordlessly nodded. He reached into his robes and pulled out ten silver pieces. As ten silver coins equal to one gold coin, the receptionist accepted the payment and handed him an application form.

 

The boy quickly filled out the information and handed it back to the woman. The female receptionist glanced over the form, checking for any mistakes. Hmm, the boy’s name is Moss. Today is his birthday and he had just reached twelve years. His class…healer? Interesting.

 

The receptionist approved the application and showed the boy to the testing area. The testing area was actually in the fenced backyard of the building. There were a couple of scarecrows at one end of the field while some people stood at the other end. When Moss arrived with the receptionist, the woman whispered something to the test proctor before leaving the boy behind.

 

The test proctor was a burly man with bulging muscles and a jovial face. He was clean-shaven and bald, but he proudly sported a pair of bushy sideburns. The man wore leather armor and carried a two-handed double-headed axe over his back. The man welcomed Moss with a smile and beckoned him over to stand beside the other examinees.

 

“Alright, I guess that’s everyone in this batch.” The proctor began as he gave the examinees a once-over. “Today, we will conduct separate tests for different classes. Mages will be tested their magic affinity, capacity, and strength. Fighters will test their skills against the scarecrows. Healers will test healing capacity and strength. Alright, you lot divide yourself into these three groups. Hurry!”

 

The examinees, ranging between twelve years old and twenty years old, quickly divided themselves into the three categories described by the test proctor. There was a total of seven magic users, twelve fighters, and three healers.

 

The test proctor headed towards the seven magic users and brought out a crystal orb. “This orb will measure your capabilities. Place your hand on top of the orb and inject some of your mana. Particles will appear. The color determines your affinity. The number determines your capacity, and the brightness determines your strength. First up, Ashley!”

 

A young girl around fourteen years old walked up to the test proctor with overflowing confidence. The noble girl was dressed in a magically enhanced robe and carried an expensive-looking staff. She pushed back her blond hair and placed her dainty hand on top of the crystal orb.

 

Bright red lights swirled about bringing a grunt of satisfaction from the proctor and a wave of gasps from the other examinees. The proctor nodded and motioned for Ashley to lift up her hand. “Lightning magic! One hundred and fifty mana points! D-ranked strength!”

 

Now, these words may not mean anything to an ordinary citizen, but for adventurer wannabes, it represented power. An average mage would have a total of one hundred mana points, but Ashley had fifty percent more. This meant that she could dish out more spells or unleash higher-ranking spells without suffering from mana exhaustion.

 

As for having an initial strength of D-rank, this meant that Ashley could already start off with using D-ranked spells without any issue. Although the mana points would not change, the rank could increase through practice and talent. With practice, Ashley could rise up to become one of the top experts of the guild.

 

Satisfied with the results, the young girl twitched her nose with a humph and sauntered to the side. Next up, a timid boy by the name of Lucas walked up to the crystal orb and placed his hand on it. A bright flash of blue light filled the area, causing many outbursts from the other examinees as well as the test proctor.

 

“Water magic! A-ranked! Genius! Talent!” The test proctor exclaimed excitedly.

 

Lucas beamed happily as he lifted his hand up, but before he could, the test proctor grabbed his hand and forced it back onto the orb. Lucas paled slightly at the discomfort and was about to question the proctor when he noticed something off about the man’s expressions.

 

The test proctor frowned as he counted the number of particles. “A mere forty points! What a waste! Still, a pass is a pass.”

 

The man released the boy’s hand and turned towards the next examinee while coldly ignoring short-lived genius. “Next!”

 

Four more mage candidates went up to test their luck. Three failed and one barely passed with a magic capacity of ninety mana points and E-ranked strength. However, even with this pass, the test proctor’s frown continued to deepen. It seemed to him that this batch’s mage candidates were subpar at best. Finally, it was the last examinee’s turn.

 

The examinee was a young girl with frivolous red hair and went by the name of Adara. She had a fiery attitude as she pounced towards the crystal orb and slammed her hand over it. Blindingly bright red light shot out from the orb as it filled up with particles.

 

When the test proctor saw the results, he couldn’t help but yelp in excitement. “Fire magic! Three hundred points! B-ranked strength! Monster! Monstrous talent! You pass!”

 

Adara smiled at her qualifications and stood next to Ashley, who glared down at her with her usual noble arrogance. “Hmph! So what if you got better talent than me? You’re still a country bumpkin.”

 

Ashley harrumphed once more before turning her attention to the other mage candidate who passed. As the other was of noble birth, the two got along pretty well. Adara looked at the noble girl with clenched fists. She knew that she was of common birth, but she vowed that she would one day rise above all others. The young girl closed her eyes and calmed down. She should focus more on her goal and ignore the gossips and disdainful looks of others.

 

Meanwhile, the test proctor moved onto the fighter’s exam. “For the fighters, your test will be simple. Unleash your best move on the scarecrows over there and then spar with me for one minute. If you can last through one minute with me, you pass. Understood?”

 

“Understood!” The twelve fighters exclaimed in unison.

 

“Good! Jake, you’re up first!” The test proctor announced.

 

Jake, a nineteen-year-old young man with bulging muscles and a towering figure, strode towards a scarecrow while caring a sledgehammer in his hands. As his muscles flexed and increased in size, the boy shouted as he brought the hammer up over his head and smashed it down onto the scarecrow, crushing it into smithereens. “Titan’s Fall!”

 

Not only did it destroy the scarecrow, the hammer continued towards the ground, creating a sizeable crater. Jake seemed to be satisfied with his attack, but the test proctor only grunted in acknowledgement. Clearly, the boy’s move did not impress him at all.

 

Next, it was a the one-minute sparring session. Jake approached the test proctor with lumbering steps. Instead of cautiously assessing the situation, the teenager gave a mighty roar and charged. The boy raised his sledgehammer up and attempted to unleash <<Titan’s Fall>>; however, his attack only made another crater in the ground as the test proctor sidestepped and lunged with a front kick.

 

The kick landed squarely on the boy’s chest, knocking him back and causing him to let go of his weapon. The test proctor shook his head in disappointment and sneered. “What’s the use of your big body if you can’t even withstand a kick from me? Do you only know this brutish skill? What’s the use of all that power if you’re so fucking slow? Get out! You failed!”

 

“B-But!” Jake tried to retort but the test proctor ignored him and had already moved on to the next examinee.

 

Dejected, Jake left the testing area. Meanwhile, the test proctor supervised and failed the next five testees. Each was worse than the previous. With his frustration building up, the test proctor nearly sent one of the examinees to the healers during sparring.

 

Of all twelve of the fighter candidates, only three barely passed. Lester was a spear user skilled in his continuous spear thrusts. The skill <<Combo Thrust>> he used on the scarecrow was cleanly executed and brought a smile upon the test proctor’s lips. During the spar, Lester valued speed over strength and almost lost, which resulted in his barely passing score.

 

The second candidate to pass was a young woman in her twenties by the name of Janet. She displayed skill with her short sword and lasted one minute against the test proctor without tiring. The only reason she barely passed was because of her age.

 

At her age, she should have done better. But because she missed the opportune time to practice and lacked the patience to persevere, she was only at this level. If only she was at least five years younger, she would be a genius. Otherwise, how would she compete with those of the younger generations?

 

Lastly, the third examinee showed some promise but was to frivolous in his attacks. The fourteen-year-old boy named Hale had the talent, but he lacked the patience – something that was an asset to the boy especially since he was an archer.

 

The test proctor grunted at the three test takers and turned his attention on the three healers. Usually, the healing occupation was popular among females, so it was surprising to see Moss participating in the healing exam. Nevertheless, who was he to judge?

 

The test proctor explained to the three examinees the test format. “The rules are simple. A healer must be able to heal even when wounded. I will cut each of your non-dominant arm and you will have to heal the person next to you. Are you ready?”

 

“W-What? Cut m-my arm? I don’t want to!” One of the female healer candidates frowned as she hid her arms under her robe.

 

“Don’t be a coward!” The test proctor annoyingly snapped as he reached out his hand. “Do it or fail. Your choice!”

 

“W-What if it scars?” The young girl asked with a pout.

 

“If it scars, blame it on the healer healing you.” The test proctor shrugged as he pointed at Moss.

 

“T-This….” The girl looked at Moss with hesitation before extending her arm out. “You…if you leave a scar, I won’t be able to marry! You must take responsibility!”

 

Moss looked at the cute girl and nodded. “Don’t worry. There will be no scar!”

 

“Oh? Confident, aren’t you? Well, no matter. We’ll see whether you’re all bark and no bite or not.” The proctor grinned as he slashed the three examinees’ arms.

 

While struggling through the stinging pain, Moss focused on the young girl’s arm. With a wave of his staff, the young boy cast a rudimentary healing spell <<Heal>>. Similarly, the other two examinees cast <<Heal>> on their targets.

 

As the test proctor leaned in to check the results, he nodded at the three examinees’ work. Though each wound was healed, a scar remained. Only Moss’s target wound had a fainter outline. This showed his mastery and steady hand over the healing process.

 

Just as the proctor was about to end the test, Moss tapped his staff on the girl’s scar and uttered. “Restore!”

 

<<Restore>> was an intermediate skill capable of restoring any wound to its original appearance. The spell touched the faint scar and completely erased it from existence. The spell surprised both the young girl, who looked at Moss with adoration, and the test proctor, who looked at Moss with admiration.

 

“Amazing! So young and already know Restore. You, boy, passed with flying colors. As for the other two, you have also passed. Well done!”

 

The girl who had her scar erased moved closer to Moss and smiled. “Thank you so much little brother.”

 

“No problem.” Moss replied as he looked at the other girl. “Do you want me to remove your scar as well?”

 

“Yes, please!” The female healer stretched out her arm.

 

Moss tapped on the girl’s scar with his staff and muttered. “Restore!”

 

With a flash of light, the girl’s scar vanished. The girl thanked him with a hug and the two female healers introduced themselves as Elizabeth and Tammy. Moss gave a light nod to each introduction and gave out his name as well.

 

Meanwhile, the test proctor gestured for those who passed to follow him as they re-entered the guild. The test proctor gave the results to the female receptionist who procured a stack of guild badges to give to those who passed.

 

Then, the test proctor turned to the eight newly instated adventurers and formally introduced himself. “My name is Simon. I’m one of the thirty A-ranked adventurers of this guild. I am the leader of the Mighty Bear Party. From now on, you are all F-ranked adventurers. Don’t bring shame to our guild. You are dismissed! Go do whatever.”

 

With that, Simon left. The eight adventurers looked at each other in awkward silence before some broke away and left the building. Others went over to find a party to join or search for a mission to do.

 

Two people walked up to Moss with the intention of forming a party. They were Adara and Hale. Moss agreed to join but because of the mismatch in capabilities, he suggested that they should find at least a defender and a close-combat damage dealer.

 

The trio headed towards the task board to search for a suitable quest while on the lookout for a few more potential party members. As they search through the numerous tasks, they had initially thought about taking on a goblin slaying quest. However, apparently, goblin slaying quests were so popular that there weren’t any tasks about it pinned to the board.

 

Finally, Hale found a kobold slaying quest and reached over to grab the post. But, just as his hand touched the paper, a big hand reached over and snatched it away. Out of annoyance, Hale turned his attention towards the person who took away the quest paper. It was a large boy wearing leather armor and carrying a tower shield over his back as well as a one-handed hammer at his side.

 

Despite the height difference between the two boys, Hale asserted his position and claimed the large boy as a thief for stealing the quest from him. The boy stood his ground and rebutted while calling his two buddies to support him. Hale looked towards Adara and Moss for help. Adara joined in the argument but didn’t get far when Moss intercepted the two groups and offered mediation.

 

“Guys, stop! Look, the paper only said at least three people in a party. That meant there could be more.” Moss interjected as he pushed Hale back.

 

“Yea, so?” The large boy grunted as he held back his buddies.

 

“So, why don’t we team up?” Moss suggested.

 

“And why should we do that? What do we need a puny little bowman for? And a girl? She’d slow us down. And you…little kid, what can you even do?” One of the buddies sarcastically sneered.

 

Moss held back his party with his staff and glanced at the one who spoke. The teenager wore cloth armor and carried a pair of daggers. Moss then scanned his eyes towards the other buddy, who wore a gray robe and carried a wand, before landing his sight on the large boy.

 

“Judging by your shield, I’m assuming you’re the defense of your party. That guy with the sarcasm is your melee damage-dealer and that guy in the gray robes is your ranged damage-dealer. Am I right in believing this?” Moss asked the large boy.

 

“You are correct.” The large boy grunted with a nod.

 

“Kobolds are fast little buggers and they have a variety of tricks up their sleeves. What happens if you fall into one of their traps?” Moss reminded.

 

The boy with the daggers cackled and thumped his chest. “I’m a member of the Thieves Guild. Locating and disarming traps are my specialty.”

 

Moss glanced at the boy deeply. “Can you be a hundred percent each time? What if you messed up once? What if that one mistake cost your party to be wounded? What happens then? Who will heal you? If you join me and my friends, I will provide the healing.”

 

“Alright, then you can come with us. But what about your party? What can they do for us?” The large boy crossed his arms with a solid stance.

 

“Adara is a fire mage with monstrous talent. I’m sure she can provide decent firepower, especially since kobolds are afraid of fire. As for Hale, with his speed, he’s able to pull monsters towards or away from us with relative ease.” Moss introduced his teammates.

 

“Fine. Let’s merge. My name is Clayton.” The large boy mused over the information for a bit before relenting. He pointed towards the mage and the thief respectively. “This is John and Abel.”

 

After the introductions, the six adventurers formed a new party called Knee Busters. Adara and Moss were not part of this embarrassing naming process. It was originally going to be Ball Busters, but for the sake of the only female in the group, the boys (excluding Moss) decided to go with Knee Busters.

 

Once the party name was decided and the quest application was approved, the six adventurers set out to the target location. According to the map provided with the quest paper, the kobold nest was located in a cave north of the Bright Winds Village. Scouts have discovered that at least twenty kobolds enter and exit the cave, so the party should expect a rather large nest.

 

After half a day of trekking, the party finally arrived at the mouth of the cave. While they hid in behind some trees a couple of meters away from the cave, Abel snuck closer to scout the premises. After a few minutes, the teenager hurried back with information.

 

“There’s two kobold spearmen guarding the entrance, one on each side. They seemed to have been guarding there for a long time as they’re already beginning to doze off. If we’re quiet, we may be able to take them out without a sound.” Abel reported.

 

“Any movements inside the cave? Did you hear any sounds?” Moss asked.

 

Abel glanced at Clayton before answering. “I heard some howls and barks as well as some screams for help. It seemed that the kobolds have caught a few people. I don’t know what they’re doing to them.”

 

“Well, if they’re behaviors are anywhere near that of goblins…then, that most definitely happen.” Hale hinted as he glanced at Adara.

 

“They don’t.” Moss skipped over. “Kobolds aren’t as lustful as goblins. But they’re always in a constant hunger due to the lack of food. They’ll probably eating the hostages.”

 

John gagged as his face turned a tinge of green. “H-How do you know that?”

 

“I learned it from my Master.” Moss shrugged.

 

“Oh.” The wind mage nodded.

 

“Okay, all the more need to hurry. Hale, you take the one on the left while Abel take the one on the right. Remember, be stealthy and don’t alert the enemies inside.” Clayton directed. “Let’s not plan everything at the beginning since there’re many variables in a fight. Let’s do this one step at a time.”

 

“Alright.” The rest of the party agreed.

 

Abel dashed out, jumping from shadow to shadow, in a wide curve towards the kobold spearman on the right. Quietly and quickly, the thief arrived at the side of the cave entrance behind the monster. Abel waited for Clayton’s signal before striking home.

 

Meanwhile, Hale rushed out from the left and scrambled up a tree for cover. He pulled back his bow and aimed at the kobold spearman on the left. Similarly, Hale waited for Clayton’s signal before releasing the arrow.

 

Clayton looked at Abel and Hale, making sure that they were ready, before tossing a stone over. The pebble bounced and clacked along the stony ground, drawing the alerted attention of the two kobold guards.

 

As the two kobolds glanced over at the stone, sharp-eye Hale let loose his nocked arrow. The arrow pierced into the target’s snarling mouth and through its throat, silencing it. The other kobold turned to its brethren in surprise only to have a blade run through its chest.

 

Abel pulled out the blade in one swift motion and sliced the kobold’s throat, preventing it from alerting those inside the cave. Once the two kobolds were killed, Abel and Clayton dragged them into the forest, so the scent of blood didn’t linger too long in the area.

 

The six adventurers approached the mouth of the cave and drew their weapons. Adara summoned a ball of fire using skilled fire manipulation and a simple <<Fireball>> spell. The ball of fire floated before the party, illuminating the darkness within.

 

With a decent light source, the party of six entered the cave. After walking down a couple of hallways, Abel managed to disarm a few simple traps here or there, attracting some admiration from Adara and Moss.

 

The attention he received boosted his ego as Abel started recounting his past adventures despite everyone’s unwillingness to listen. Soon, they arrived at a forked path. The path split into two with each new path arriving at the mouth of a dark entranceway.

 

“What should we do?” Clayton asked as he looked over at Moss.

 

“What is there to do?” Abel cut in with a confident remark. “We do what thieves do. Left where nothing is right and right if nothing is left.”

 

“What do you mean?” Moss asked curiously.

 

“We go left if everything so far didn’t seem right and we go right if there’s nothing left from the path we came from.” Abel explained. “So far, we’ve only encountered a couple of traps. Nothing much, right? There wasn’t anything else left so according to our rule, we should take right.”

 

“Is that even trustworthy?” Hale found this quote ridiculous.

 

“It has worked since the founding of the Thieves Guild.” Abel patted his chest with confidence.

 

“You sure? Not much guarantee in my opinion.” Hale shook his head.

 

“Well, your opinion doesn’t matter much either in my opinion.” Abel snorted as his shoulders formed a shrug.

 

“You muthafucka!” Hale roared as he rolled up his sleeves.

 

“That’s right. I fucka your mutha!” Abel mocked with a smirk.

 

“Argghh!” Hale threw a solid punch towards the thief who pulled his arms up to block.

 

However, before the punch landed, Hale was pulled back by Clayton. “Enough! We don’t have so much free time wasting words against each other. Let’s just take the right path and be done with it!”

 

“Exactly, Hale, come back. We don’t have much time. Didn’t Abel say there were screams for help earlier? We need to see if we can rescue those victims.” Moss reminded.

 

“Fine! Let’s go!” Hale grumbled as he headed on first.

 

Clayton, John, Adara, and Moss followed after Hale with Abel covering their rear. Soon, they arrived at another forked path. They could either continue straight or turn left. Clayton turned around and looked at Abel, who shrugged and told them to follow the same rule.

 

Since nothing happened, then according to the Thieves Guild rule, they continued onward. But, little did they know, Abel was hesitating. He looked back before carefully analyzing the entranceway on the left. There’s another rule in the Thieves Guild – Right is never wrong but left is three-fourths right.

 

Taking this chance, Abel decided to head left. If he was right, there might be some treasure at the end of this hallway. After a short distance, he indeed found an old treasure chest. In his excitement and greed, the thief glanced around for any traps before kneeling next to the treasure chest.

 

After blowing away some dust, he reached into his pockets and pulled out some metal pins. Taking one in each hand, the thief started picking the lock. With a few swift clicks, the lock was picked and the chest opened.

 

Abel rubbed his hands with a big grin plastered on his face. He slowly reached out and lifted the lid…only to reveal not gold or jewelries, but a lump of purple. The purplish lump looked fleshy and when Abel poked at it curiously, it wiggled in response!

 

“Fuck! It’s a mimic!” Abel swore out loud as he realized too late what the purplish lump was.

 

Suddenly, the fleshy lump of purple projected itself towards the thief and wrapped itself around him. Sharp teeth revealed themselves along the rims of the chest. With a tug, the helpless Abel was pulled into the chest. As he tried to cry for help, the chest closed down on itself with a sickening chomp.

 

CRUNCH!

 

CRUNCH!

 

SLURP!

 

CRACK!

 

CRACK!

 

CRUNCH!

 

SLURP!

 

GULP!

 

Muffled cries of agony were overwhelmed by the sounds of chewing. Blood dripped out from the cracks and openings of the chest. After the first slurp, the sound simmered down. All that was left were noises of a satisfying meal.

 

Moss heard Abel’s cry for help and turned around. “Guys? Where’s Abel?”

 

“Damn it! Not again!” Clayton cursed upon realizing what had happened.

 

“What do you mean ‘not again’?” Adara asked curiously.

 

John turned to the fire mage and explained. “Abel has a sixth sense – a sense for treasure. But he has a greedy habit. If he senses treasure, he would usually go out on his own. He’s gotten himself into a lot of trouble because of this.”

“Really?” Moss asked with a frown. “I fear he’s in trouble. I heard him call out a few seconds ago.”

 

“Fuck! Let’s go back!” Clayton sprang forward with a worried look.

 

The five adventurers hurried back. Upon seeing the other entrance, they barreled in. It was at this time, Moss held up his arm to block those behind him from moving any further. When they looked at him questioningly, Moss put his finger to his lips and pointed up ahead.

 

A few meters before them was a chest. When Adara shone her ball of fire near the chest, they saw a pool of fresh blood surrounding the chest as well as a few streaks of blood flowing from the chest. Moss knew what it was. He had read about it before. It was a mimic.

 

Mimics were fleshy and toothy monsters comprised mainly of major organs, a tongue, and lots of teeth. They attached themselves into old containers, usually empty treasure chests, in order to protect themselves from harm. Mimics do not have a sense of taste, smell, or hearing, but their sense of touch were heightened because of it.

 

Moss motioned Adara to light the monster on fire. As soon as the mimic lit up, it started writhing and hissing in pain. Slimy objects spew out from its mouth and some even landed near the adventurers’ feet. When they looked over, Adara, Hale, and John lurched to the side and vomited.

 

They were undigested body parts…Abel’s body parts. Moss stared at the piece of Abel’s head as his stomach churned and twisted a couple of times. The body part was jagged at the edges. Patches of ragged hair remained on the top. The eye socket was empty except for a few veins poking out. And what’s left of an eye hung loosely on the cheekbone.

 

The healer closed his eyes with a grimace as the image remained freshly within his mind. Moss breathed a brief prayer to the God of Life before turning to Adara. “Finish it! Up the intensity. Let’s cremate what’s left of Abel. At least it’ll do him some justice.”

 

“O-Okay!” Adara replied between gags and snapped her fingers.

 

Immediately, the fire increased in power and radiated tinges of blue. Within seconds, the mimic stopped writhing and collapsed into a pile of ash. There was a distinct smell of chicken and pork in the air bringing about another round of hurling from the adventurers.

 

Moss glanced over at Clayton and John. Though they were boys, tears streamed down their cheeks uncontrollably. The pre-teen sighed and patted Clayton’s back in consolation. “Does Abel have any family?”

 

“No…he’s an orphan like us. We came from the same orphanage.” Clayton wiped away some tears.

 

John smashed his fist against the wall in frustration. “Poor Abel! I couldn’t even give him a proper burial!”

 

Moss sighed once more. “Let’s go. We still have kobolds to kill. Take your anger and frustration out on them.”

 

***

 

Half an hour of snail-like movements and stumbling over traps, the adventurers finally found a large cavern. Inside, there were around thirty kobolds sleeping about after a scrumptious meal of human flesh.

 

Looking at the pile of human bones, Clayton shook with anger. “Those bastards, I’m gonna kill every last one of them!”

 

“Calm down Clayton!” Moss interrupted as he tried to pull the large boy back. “You charging in like this won’t do us any good. We need to play it smart.”

“I know! I’m just so angry!” Clayton nodded as he took a few breaths to calm down. “What do you have in mind?”

 

“My father once told me that when a person breathes in too much smoke, they would become sluggish and eventually die. If this could happen to us, won’t it happen to them as well?” Moss explained.

 

“This sounds too risky. Won’t they find out?” John opinionated.

 

“No worries. They have a few fires going right now. What’s a few more?” Moss shrugged.

 

“Fine, let’s do that. I’m willing to take the risk.” Clayton affirmed. Hale, Adara, and John nodded in consensus as well.

 

Moss concocted a plan before signaling to the archer. “Hale, you steal a couple of liquor jugs and spill them all over the place. Don’t spill on the kobolds though. We don’t want to wake them up just yet.”

 

“Okay, I understand what to do.” Hale nodded.

 

“Good.” Moss smiled as he turned to the wind mage next. “John, your job is very important and requires a lot of mental concentration and careful manipulation. First, you need to adjust the air around Hale so that the kobolds won’t be able to smell him. Next, when the fire starts, you need to constantly feed the fire with air. From my years of medicine brewing, more air means stronger, hotter, and longer lasting fire. Don’t use too much air or you’ll blow out the fire.”

 

“Got it!” John acknowledged his role in the plan.

 

“Lastly, Adara, your job is easy. Just light the place up at different locations.” Moss explained.

 

“Okay, I got it!” The fire mage nodded.

 

“What about me?” Clayton interjected. “What should I do?”

 

“Once the fire starts and the first wave of kobolds wake up. They will definitely try to escape. Adara will bombard them with fire while you and Hale take care of any stragglers. I will provide cover healing if it’s needed.” Moss finalized. “There, that’s the plan. Any questions or objections?”

 

“None!” The foursome replied.

 

“Good! Let’s start now!” Moss smiled as he glanced over towards Hale.

 

The archer quickly and silently jumped into the cavern. With a few swift motions, he swiped a couple of alcohol jugs and started pouring liquor all over the place. Thanks to John, Hale was able to complete his task without being detected.

 

After Hale returned to the party, Adara started lighting up the nest. In an instant, certain areas started to burn. John helped keep the fire going with careful wind manipulation. Soon, smoke began to build up causing many kobolds to wake up coughing.

 

Some tried to escape but were knocked down by either Clayton or Hale while others were too lethargic to even move. They met their end through smoke poisoning or burning. In a matter of minutes, the entire kobold nest was annihilated. As the fire died down, the party headed down to finish off any kobold still hanging by the thread.

 

Moss looked around the nest with a frown on his face. Strange…all these kobolds but not a single one of them seemed leader worthy.

 

“What are you thinking about, Moss?” Clayton grinned as he walked over. “The smell of grilled kobold not sitting well with your stomach?”

 

Moss shook his head slightly while still in thought. “N-No…I just find it strange.”

 

“How so?” Clayton asked.

 

Moss turned to look at the large boy. “It’s just that…with all these kobolds, where’s the leader of the pack?”

 

Clayton perked up with alertness when he heard Moss. “You’re right! Every kobold pack should have an alpha. All of these were too low-levelled to be an alpha. The boss must be nearby!”

 

“Everyone! Quickly finish what you are doing. There’s still the kobold alpha! We need to kill it for this to be all over!” Moss turned to the others.

 

“What? There’s more?” Adara frowned as she twitched her dainty nose. The smell of kobold blood and burnt flesh did not sit well with her stomach.

 

“Just one more, I believe.” Hale pointed towards an entranceway at the far end of the room. “Maybe that leads to the boss’s room.”

 

“Let’s make sure these kobolds are all dead. Stab them as you make your way to the exit!” Moss replied as he brandished a kobold’s scimitar and stabbed down on a few corpses. “Clayton, take the front. Make sure the boss doesn’t show up while we’re finishing these bastards off.”

 

Clayton slung his tower shield over his left arm and edged towards the dark tunnel. “Got it! Come on, let’s go!”

 

The party continued to move through the corpses with Clayton in front and Hale at the rear. Adara followed close behind Clayton while guiding the ball of fire through the darkness. Soon, they arrived at the entranceway. The party looked down the long hallway, illuminated by the flickering ball of fire.

 

“Should we go?” Hale asked tentatively, but the response was obvious to them all as a sound rippled through the hallway.

 

AAAAAAHHHH!

 

A high-pitched scream pierced through the air, drawing their attention. There’s a survivor! Immediately, the five rushed down the hallway. Fortunately, there were no traps as the party breezed through. In a matter of minutes, they arrived before another large cavern.

 

Before they barged in, Clayton held up his hand to block the way. His nose wrinkled as his eyes squinted into a frown. This smell…it was familiar. Could it be? With another sniff, the large boy confirmed his guess.

 

There was a distinct smell of rust within the room. But, why would a cave have rusted iron just lying about? Especially if it’s enough for him to smell it all the way out here. No…this couldn’t be rust. It…It’s blood.

 

Clayton signaled to his comrades to prepare themselves as he raised his shield and slowly inched into the cavern. Adara separated the ball of fire into two smaller ones and moved them slowly into the room. The areas that were illuminated displayed a gruesome sight.

 

There were blood splatters and even pools of blood everywhere. Crushed and chewed bones laid scattered about the floor and a reek of rotten flesh permeated their noses with every breath. As they stared in horror at the gory mess, a gurgling moan was heard from deeper into the cavern. Adara threw her fireballs towards the sound and what the fire mage saw nearly made her lose her concentration.

 

At the center of the room laid a human girl on top of a pool of blackened blood. Her face paled with each laboring breath. Sprawled on top of her was a wolf-like reptilian monster. Its powerful arms pinned down the girl as it chomped at her fleshy bosom.

 

The sudden appearance of two fireballs blinded the monster, causing it to reel back in pain. As it rubbed its teary eyes, the intruders leaped into battle. Hale fired a couple of arrows at the kobold lord using <<Quickshot>>, distracting it with stinging discomfort. Meanwhile, Clayton took big steps to quickly arrive before the monster. With a powerful tackle, he sent the monster flying.

 

Moss and Hale arrived soon after. Hale rolled to the side and aimed his sights on the screaming monster. Meanwhile, Moss bent down to inspect the wounded young woman. The healer hissed as he saw the bloody wounds.

 

Both breasts were torn off of the girl in bloody bites. Moss could even see her ribs. It was near impossible to recover the lost flesh. There was one spell that could do just that; however, with Moss’s level, he could not master such a spell. There was only one thing he could do. Hopefully, the young woman would forgive him for his decisions.

 

As the healer rubbed his chest uncomfortably, he hovered his hand over the wounds and cast <<Hemostasis>>. <<Hemostasis>> is a beginner healing spell used to stop the flow of bleeding. The more severe a wound, the more mana was required to successfully activate the spell. For the girl’s wounds, Moss nearly spent a fourth of his energy.

 

Once the bleeding stopped, Moss cast <<Mend>> to close up the wounds and <<Restore>> to erase the scarring. However, even after healing the wounds, the girl had lost a lot of blood. If nothing was to be done, she could go into shock and die.

 

Moss looked around him and quietly muttered a prayer to the God of Life. As an apostle, he could briefly channel a part of the god’s divine power. Moss hovered his hand over the girl’s body and closed his eyes.

 

“Vigor! Heal! Recover!” Using this trio of spells in quick succession was draining for any normal healer. But for Moss who was channeling some divine power, it was a piece of cake.

 

The reason Moss cast these three spells was to revitalize the girl’s body in order to boost natural healing. <<Vigor>> helped increase the girl’s bodily strength and washed away her fatigue. <<Heal>> helped restore some lost blood and banished any minor impurities within the body. Lastly, <<Recover>> gave the girl a boost in returning to her normal state and mind.

 

With all three spells enveloping the girl, her health quickly returned and in a matter of seconds, her eyes opened. However, just because her body healed doesn’t mean that her mind healed. As soon as she woke up, memories of her party killed and eaten right before her eyes resurfaced in her mind. With a piercing scream, she pushed Moss away and huddled herself in a corner.

 

Moss was good at healing, but he was never good with comforting. He turned towards Adara, hoping to have her take over. The fire mage nodded and walked over to the victim. After a few comforting words, the girl hugged Adara tightly and cried in the fire mage’s embrace.

 

Meanwhile, Moss turned his attention towards the battle. The kobold lord had recovered his eyesight and was currently exchanging blows with Clayton. Hale and John flanked the monster while dealing many ranged attacks. With the help of John’s <<Quicken>>, the three adventurers’ reflexes and agility were nearly doubled.

 

Every so often, Clayton boomed out a <<Taunt>>, drawing in aggression from the kobold lord. The damage he dealt overwhelmed the light shots from John and Hale, causing the kobold lord to focus more of its attention on Clayton.

 

“Quickshot! Quickshot! Quickshot!” Hale chanted as he unleashed suppressive fire onto the kobold lord, preventing it from retaliating.

 

“Wind Blade! Wind Blade! Wind Blade!” John chanted as he unleashed annoying stings, distracting the kobold lord from time to time.

 

“Staggering Blow!” Clayton smashed his hammer onto the kobold lord’s temple, sending it flying to a world of dancing stars and brief darkness.

 

When the kobold leader regained its consciousness, Clayton had already arrived before it. The large boy raised his hammer and brought it down with a <<Fierce Blow>>. But the agile monster leaped towards Clayton with a <<Bite>>, tackling him off his feet.

 

Quickly, Moss threw a <<Heal>> in Clayton’s direction while launching two <<Recover>> spells towards the two ranged attackers. As the fatigue disappeared, the three continued their assault. Hale and John bombarded the unlucky kobold lord, causing it to loosen its grip on Clayton. Feeling the ease of pressure, the large boy pushed the monster off of him and scrambled to his feet.

 

Before the kobold lord switched aggression towards one of the ranged attackers, Clayton activated <<Taunt>> coupled with <<Fighting Aura>>. Peeved by the taunt, the monster focused on Clayton. Seeing the large boy’s fighting aura as a declaration of battle, the kobold lord roared in acceptance.

 

“Earth Shaker!” Clayton roared as he stomped towards the kobold lord, each heavy step shook the ground and destabilized those nearby.

 

In response, the kobold lord leaped towards Clayton with claws out and mouth open. The large boy brought up his shield and blocked the monster’s tackle. With a flick of his elbow, Clayton flung the monster to the side.

 

As the kobold lord staggered back, Clayton swung his hammer up and struck the monster by the chin. The powerful uppercut sent the kobold lord flying. But, it wasn’t enough to fell the large beast.

 

The kobold lord, by nature, was a tough bastard. However, this particular monster was a rare variant with increased endurance and resilience. Clayton’s uppercut damaged it, but the attack did not stun it. With a couple of head shakes, the kobold lord lunged towards Clayton once more.

 

While John and Hale pestered it with ranged attacks, trying to slow it down, Clayton met the kobold lord with a shield charge. However, anyone facing a giant beast would suffer a moment’s hesitation. And as for Clayton, that moment happened right before he and the monster collided.

 

With a moment’s hesitation, Clayton’s grip on his shield loosened. The collision between the two ended with the boy’s loss. With his grip on his shield weaker than it should be, the shield was knocked away by the kobold lord, leaving a gap in the large boy’s defenses.

 

The kobold lord clenched its fist and swung, only to miss as the punch’s direction was changed by a lucky shot from Hale. But, that did not stop the monster. With a swift spin, the kobold lord smashed its tail into Clayton, knocking the wind out of him.

 

As Moss used <<Second Wind>> on Clayton, Hale and John provided cover fire. However, the kobold lord had entered somewhat of a bloodlust or berserk state. The more arrows and wind blades pierce its skin, the angrier and more aggressive it became. With a mighty roar, it turned its attention towards Hale and hurled itself forward.

 

A wave of green light washed over Hale as he took the attack head on. Luckily, Moss had thrown an <<Empower>> at Hale before the kobold lord smashed into him. The <<Empower>> skill gave an overall boost in Hale’s attributes, allowing him to survive the attack.

 

Moss quickly cast <<Sanctuary>> on Hale, providing the collapsed archer healing as well as shielding from the onslaught of blows. But, the shield won’t last as the kobold lord slammed its fists continuously. Hale needed reinforced help immediately!

 

Moss looked around helplessly. John was busy replenishing his mana with potions while Clayton was still shaking away the feeling of being crushed. Seeing that there was no help in sight, Moss bunkered down and concentrated on protecting Hale. Suddenly, a ball of fire zoomed past Moss and slammed into the monster.

 

Adara had entered the battle! Following after the fire mage was the young woman Moss had healed. The woman raised up her hands and murmured a spell. Her eyes blackened and her dark purple hair fluttered about with energy.

 

“Venomous Curse!” The woman roared as purplish green waves of magic shot out from her fingertips and pierced through the kobold lord.

 

Afflicted with the venom of the curse, the monster reeled back with a distorted face. The <<Venomous Curse>> was a damage-over-time type of spell that lasted up to five seconds. Now, five seconds may not seem like a long time; however, for the victim suffering from the tormenting venom, it seemed like five days.

 

The kobold lord spat out a mouthful of poisoned blood and staggered back, its head spun and a look of confusion showed in its eyes. The monster tried to attack Hale once more but tripped as weakness washed over it.

 

“Clayton, now’s your chance!” Moss roared while Adara and John bombarded the kobold lord with magic.

 

Clayton scrambled to his feet and swung his hammer down. One hit to the head was all it took to crush the enemy. With the kobold lord motionless, Clayton stumbled back and sat down in exhaustion.

 

“Whew! That took forever!” Clayton wiped away some sweat from his brow.

 

“I know. I almost died!” Hale agreed. “I’m spent! No arrows and no energy.”

 

Moss sent his party a wave of <<Refresh>> to cool them down and relieve some fatigue. He turned towards the woman and offered to use the spell on her as well. However, the woman refused politely.

 

“So, are you alright? What’s your name?” Moss asked the woman.

 

The twenty-something young woman recalled the events that happened to her and grimaced. “I-I’m good. Thank you for saving me. My name is Thea.”

 

“Hello Thea. My name is Moss. This is Hale, John, Clayton, and Adara. We are the *ahem* Knee Busters party.” The twelve-year-old healer bashfully introduced himself and his party. “So, what are you going to do now?”

 

“I-I don’t know. Maybe I-I’ll retire from adventuring and go back to my hometown.” Thea looked downcast. “I-I’ve become so deformed…I-I don’t know if I-I could settle down properly.”

 

“How about you join us?” Moss suggested as he glanced over towards his party for accordance.

 

“Yea! Join us! Then, I won’t be the only girl in the party.” Adara beamed happily as she clung onto Thea’s arm.

 

Thea smiled at the adorable young girl and nodded. “Okay! I-I’ll join!”

 

“Yay!” Adara hopped about excitedly.

 

“Alright! Let’s rest for a bit before we head back.” Moss replied as he found a large rock to sit down on.

 

Suddenly, Clayton remarked. “Hey, John! What are you doing?”

 

Everyone turned their attention towards the wind mage who was busy poking at the kobold lord’s body. John had a dagger drawn and seemed to be sawing away at the monster’s ear. The wind mage turned towards the party and held up the bloodied ear.

 

“Don’t we need to cut off the ears to show the guild proof of kill? That’s what I’m doing. Let’s go and get the ears of the other kobolds.” John responded.

 

“Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot!” Clayton smacked his leg as he recalled the quest requirements.

 

Everyone got ready to leave and head back to the first cavern when a screech erupted. The kobold lord was still alive! The party turned around to defend themselves but it was too late. With its last dying breath, the kobold lord had pounced on top of the nearest adventurer and tore his head off with one fierce bite.

 

“No! John!” Clayton roared in anguish as he saw his friend die before his eyes.

 

Angry at himself for not checking whether the monster was dead or not, Clayton swung his hammer in retaliation. The kobold lord fell and exhaled its last breath. It was finally dead. Clayton walked up to the beast and raised his tower shield. With a sickening slam, he stabbed down with the edge of his shield and beheaded the kobold lord.

 

Clayton, devoid of any emotion except sadness, sighed deeply. He grabbed John’s dagger and cleaved open the monster’s stomach. Ignoring the blood and guts, Clayton took a piece of coarse cloth and wrapped it around John’s half-chewed head.

 

Moss wanted to comfort Clayton, but he stopped as Clayton seemed to ignore him. The large boy picked up John’s headless body and slung it over his shoulder. Without a word, he left. Moss and the others hurried and followed after him.

 

Clayton didn’t stop to retrieve the kobolds’ ears and continued through the first cavern towards the exit. Moss told Thea, Hale, and Adara to stay behind and cut off the kobolds’ ears while he hurried after Clayton to make sure he’s okay.

 

When Moss exited the cave, he saw Clayton digging a pit with his shield. He was making a grave for John. Wordlessly, the healer searched around for a wooden plank and carved John’s name onto it. After he finished, he handed it to Clayton who thanked him.

 

Clayton laid the body and the cloth-wrapped head into the grave and piled the unearthed dirt over it. After patting the dirt tight, the large boy stuck the wooden plank into the ground. Clayton offered a prayer to his childhood friend while Moss gave the dead adventurer a moment of silence.

 

At this time, the other adventurers have exited the cave with a bag of bloodied ears. The four adventurers joined Moss in a moment of silence. Soon, Clayton was done with the prayer. He stood up with a dry smile.

 

“Let’s go.” Clayton replied as he walked away.

 

Adara exchanged worried glances with the rest of the party. “Should we comfort him?”

 

“No. Let him do his own thing. He’s a boy. We have our own ways to handle grief.” Hale shook his head as he followed after Clayton.

 

“Come on. Let’s go as well.” Moss gestured to the two girls.

 

The party took one last look at the grave before heading back to the guild. Once they turned in the quest and officially instated Thea into the party, they decided to take a break to clear their minds and process a few things.

 

About a week later, the group got back together again. In order to become stronger, Clayton, Hale, and Thea all started improving their prowess in magic. Clayton trained in stone magic to improve his defenses while Hale trained in wind magic to improve his speed. Thea, plagued with the thoughts and nightmares of her old party’s deaths, started training in necromancy to control her mind.

 

The group took on quests upon quests in order to improve. And in a span of two years, they have advanced from a mere F-ranked party to C-ranked. It was at this time, a new quest was made available for all C-rankers and above to join. This quest was something that would later on define the Knee Busters party’s very future. It was later known as the…Dragon King Invasion.