After getting our fill of drink and food, we took a stroll to one of the rooms of our guild. 

To my surprise, there was a floor underground with many storerooms. Chris told us parties could rent them. This allowed everyone to save their equipment and adventuring tools. But also to put great quantities of loot for receptionists to exchange for rewards. 

It was in one of these rooms where my back received a big bag to carry. 

Officially speaking, I was now the luggage cart, and also their rear shield for the quests to come. 

“Thus begins the newbie tradition,” the men roared at us; raising their fists in the air, to which we mimicked. And so, we made our way outside; listening to Ryze, who didn’t take long to shift into a more serious side.

“From here onward, we’ll be looking for prey. Then, the day we believe the two of you are ready. We’ll set you up for a promotion.”

I nodded lightly, feeling confused about the first part.

“Do we get something from hunting random foes?”

“Yes, Tania. Everyone, no matter their race, has a soul stone inside of them. We can deliver these to the adventurers’ guild, not only for money but also for points.”

I let out a tiny shout by accident, surprised at his words. That was a piece of information I hadn’t heard from my parents.

“What kind of creature will we track today, boss?”

Brook hit the top of his torso twice with his long spear while walking next to Ryze, who thought of the possibilities.

“Our quest requires orcs, but those usually move in groups, and they’re tough bastards…” He glanced to the side over his left shoulder in our direction. Quickly returning to the front after waving his head. “They’re definitely not ready to fight those.”

“We could go for shroomies,” Tania added casually, noticing how they were having a hard time deciding. “I’ve tracked some of them before with my dad.”

“That’s an F-ranked creature,” Chris placed his hand on the pommel, smirking confidently at that choice. “Alright, let’s go with that.”

With the party leader's confirmation, we went southwest, farther than I’ve ever stepped my feet on. Beyond the place where I trained and learned how to survive with my mother. There was to my surprise, a small plain with an even denser forest awaiting us.

After entering it, Ryze’s hand signaled us to halt.

“Let’s set camp here. Brook and Tania go look around us and report if you find anything.”

As they began moving, the man next to the girl added, “leave your bag with them.”

“Ah, right!” She walked over to me, dropping it by my feet.

“Good luck,” I faintly smiled at her while waving my hand.

“Leave it to me, Iris!” 

As my eyes stuck on her back, a voice next to me came forth.

“Iris, wear this. It might come in hand.”

“This is?” my hands received what looked like a belt with leather pouches in an orb’s shape.

“Potions. We buy them from the alchemists and merchants.”

Reminded of my dad’s boss’s job, I nodded, being a tad familiar with it. My hands then placed the belt that covered my waistline fully, leaving it up to my fingers to open one of the pockets which retrieved a potion.

“This red one heals our health slowly, and the blue one on the left side recovers mana. The best way to use them is to drink or to apply it directly to the wounds,” Chris explained merrily, pointing out which was which, and what pockets they were in. He went as far as to gesture on how to open and close with the most efficiency. 

With his explanation, I understood these things were far from omnipotent and that, at best, they would heal wounds like cuts and bites. Sadly, worse things like losing a limb or even a part of our body like an arm were not enough. However, good ones, unlike these, could help with closing wounds. But not even the best potion of Vicent could replenish the blood lost.

“As the one in the rear, it becomes your role to support us in any way that you can.”

Ryze stepped in, opened one bag, and retrieved a pouch that moved and made watery sounds. Once he removed the lid, he took a sip and handed it our way.

“Thank you,” I smiled briefly, consuming a tad, refreshing my insides after a long walk. Despite being used to exercising to some extent with my mother, having to carry a fairly heavy bag was something my body was not used to. Thus, I felt more tired than usual. Not to disregard the mental fatigue from using my ice element for the ales.

“In the worst likely scenario of finding a ferocious enemy, your job is to drop everything and run straight to the guild to request help. So in a way, it’s not an easy one as the smart enemies won’t allow you to escape easily.”

At his words, I gulped, realizing that there was more to it than I initially thought.

“Ryze’s right, but don’t let it get to your head, otherwise it’ll exhaust you mentally.”

“Now, regarding the rules of adventuring, at least our group ones,” the leader placed some stones in a circle, preparing what looked like a fireplace.

“Shall I go find some wood?”

His eyes widened before they locked onto me, “it seems like you know how to handle yourself.” He smiled before focusing on the ground once more.

“Yes, my mother forced me to learn it. It was one of the requirements that my parents made so that I could join the guild.”

“Tough fellows...” The swordsman added, scratching his short, brown hair. “But I respect that.”

“Indeed. It’s a lot better than starting from zero, and having to learn everything at once.”

I grinned alongside Chris.

“It also makes you less of a dead weight for the entire party.”

Despite the harsh words, my emotional side took it quite well, as I didn’t feel any harm from them. If anything, my heart was grateful for Chris’ honest side. I was here to learn and to help with everything I could.

“Leave it to me!” I shouted some hyped words at them, causing a brief reassuring smile to spread across their faces.

“By the way, Iris, I rarely ask about this type of thing, but your appearance is quite... distinctive,” his eyes glanced over me from hair to neck.

“How so?” my head tilted slightly to the left, causing my long hair to flow near my shoulder and arm.

“Well... you’re blonde and your eye color is beautiful,” his cheeks became rosy, feeling embarrassed by the way he described it. From the embarrassment, he swayed his face away from mine, quickly correcting himself. “I-I meant that they’re green, you know!?”

He shouted without ill intention, making me giggle.

‘Guess I wasn’t the only one feeling nervous,’ I placed my hand over my heart, which beat fast, not only from his unexpected compliment but also from being in a new place.

It hadn’t been uncommon for this or that boy for the past years to confess themselves to me, or even to say pretty words. In fact, it wasn’t only guys, but a few girls who had done so, too. After all, my physique was quite distinct as he had mentioned, and sometimes the further we are from the common folk, the more enticing we become to some people. Plus, I was quite cute, or so my mother would constantly tell me.

“Thank you,” I smiled briefly, averting my gaze from him.

“Since you two are so lovey-dovey, how about you go fetch some wood?”

“Not at all!” we complained in unison at Ryze, who laughed after mocking us.

“But yes, it’ll become even colder soon, so let’s find some for the fireplace,” the swordsman began moving towards the woods, halting after a few steps, taking a glimpse at me.

“Alright,” my eyes glared at the leader, whose laughter didn’t seem to end anytime soon; catching up with Chris.

“Don’t take him wrong, he means no harm.”

I smiled at him, not feeling bad about anything. It did not differ from the conversations with the kids from the village, and this one, too, had been funny. None of them looked old. At most, the leader looked to be two, maybe three, years older than me.

“How long have you been an adventurer?”

“We’re second years, but we haven’t been the most active party, otherwise, we could be higher in ranks.”

He took out a rope from his bag, pointing with his right index finger at the branches on the ground. 

“Was there a reason?” 

“Well... Brook had an incident a year ago,” his gaze leaned downwards, fading from my sight along with the smile he once had.

‘Should I question him further?’ my head swayed to the sides, knowing that getting into other people’s personal lives was not something my mother taught me to do.

‘If he’s willing to tell me, all good. If not, it’s fine too,’ I got hold of the third stick, pushing the subject away.

“Not that one.” he placed a hand on top of mine, removing it from the wood.

“It’s wet. It’ll be hard to burn.”

“Right.” I moved mine away from his, latching onto a distinct branch, this time an old-looking one. Once my hand lifted it, I showed it to him with a smile, to which he consented with a brief thumbs-up.

“So... what is the wood for?” 

Upon my sudden question, his eyes widened, and his right eyebrow raised. Then he smiled before opening his lips, “it has many uses.”

“Making a fireplace is a bad idea.”

“You’re right, Iris, but we won’t survive the night without it.”

I muttered an almost inaudible sound, thinking to myself, ‘do they really want to sleep in this place?’

My eyes looked around, finding a dark-looking forest, whose trees were naked of leaves and fruits. It was plain cold, the way that snow bargained the territory of the entire place, leaving only a couple of things out there to be noticed, big ones like rocks.

Be it as it may. Not everything was bad since it was like watching black and white, and unless our enemies would burrow themselves under the fluffy texture, we would notice them.

“Haven’t seen any monster yet...” my voice came out with a hint of disappointment as the places my mother took me were harsh to survive but devoid of enemies. Though there were a few times she thought a foe was close by, only to mistake it for wild animals.

Despite the many races, they were abundant, and they lived among all, only to be murdered and consumed. From the number of animals I murdered in the last years, a sigh left my mouth as they hadn’t contributed to the famous experience gauge, nor did they help with leveling up.

‘At least they filled the bellies of my family,’ a brief smile passed through my tiny lips, justifying my heart of all its sins.

“It’s rare to see newbies happy. They’re usually... more scared.”

“Unless they’re scarier than my mother, I think I’ll be fine,” we exchanged serious looks, ending up laughing at each other.

“That scary, uh?”

I nodded a few times faking my arms to tremble.

“Usually the scary one is the father.”

His eyes gazed upon the nearest tree, to the very top of it.

“Speaking of personal experience?” I giggled, causing him to face me.

“You could say that.”

“Is your dad also a swordsman?”

He grabbed the pommel, staring down at it, smiling, “he’s actually just a humble farmer.”

“Oh!” I rose my hands surprised.

“Don’t tell me it’s your mom!”

Laughter left his mouth.

“Not at all. She helps him. Regarding swordsmanship, everything I know was self-learned. That to say, that I know little.”

“The class doesn’t give knowledge?”

“It gives skills that help with combat, not so much as how to become a better swordsman, though.”

“I see...” since I was not interested in the classes my parents possessed, I hadn’t inquired either about their details, so for me, this was a learning experience. But it originated some questions.

‘With no guidance from the system classes, how are we supposed to master them?’ If I had asked him instead, using them would be what he would tell me. The white robes dictated that gods’ creation was made to be smoothly used and adapted to us. 

Thus, it all came down to self-discovery and curiosity, both of which had been my learning tools.

“Think we have enough, Iris,” he began tying up the branches into a single thicker one.

“Sure, worst case we can look for a few more if necessary.”

“Need help with your share?”

“No, I’m good, thank you.”

We sorted everything up and returned to the camp.