Today is a sunny day. The birds could be heard chirping as they flew through the peaceful sky.
Soothing melodies from the river flowing down the mountain pass, making it truly a paradise.
On that very mountain pass, a village was built, and right in that village, a girl could be seen running down the street.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" - said a store vendor as she ran past the stalls of the street.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry!" - she said as she continued running.
This girl is Sam. She is a 13 year old Cat Beast-kin. She has grey fur, with little black spots, Hazel green eyes, and a thin tail. She is currently wearing old leather armor, and is carrying a large backpack.
She wishes to be an adventurer, and as such, she applied as a Carrier at the Adventurer's Guild, and is now running to said guild.
Sam has a bright smile, excited for her first real job, as she has only been on small gathering jobs beforehand.
Although, one thing that stays the same is her clumsiness.
"Ah!" - Sam yelped as she bumped into a person. The person she bumped into, luckily, was an old friend of hers. "Mr. Stonebrook!".
"Hoh, easy there kiddo, you're gonna hurt someone when you run around like a lunatic." - said Mr. Stonebrook. Mr. Stonebrook is a Blacksmith, a Black Bear Blacksmith to be precise. He has known Sam from when she was just a baby, and he knows her wishes to be an adventurer, so he has lent her old gear for her to get started. "You're headed off to the Adventurer's Guild, right?".
"Yep! And It's an actual adventure! Not like those dumb herb gathering jobs..." Sam replied.
"I see, are you sure you are ready for that?"
"Yeah! I prepared everything i needed, just like how you told me to!"
"Alright, If that's how it is, then off you go." Stonebrook said, shocked, but impressed by Sam's determination.
"Ok, bye Mr. Stonebrook!" - said Sam, and she had started running, but not long before Stonebrook interrupted her.
"Sam, wait" She turned around, faced towards him. "When you come back, let me fix up your dagger a bit, as a celebration."
Sam's smile brightened up once more, and left, determination and vigor restored by the promise made by the old Bear. The old Bear Stonebrook watched the young cat go off into the distance, muttering only a little "Proud of ya, kiddo."
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"Phew, Finally here." -said Sam, as she looked at the Adventurer's Guild. It was a relatively average sized building, but it stood out from the other houses and buildings by it's dignified look. It was made of strong oak wood logs, the windows were clean and neatly made, and above the front door was a sign, with a sword, a bow, and an axe all crossed in between.
Opening the door, she sees the inside of the guild she remembered well. The inside was, unlike the dignified look of the outside, a lot more cheerful. Many adventurers could be seen sitting at the tables, drinking their beer and talking about 'who killed the most Imps' or 'What a big catch we had!'. Naturally, among these were also the ruffians who had too much ale to drink, and had to be politely thrown out by the Staff.
At the Receptionist Desks are the two Staff Members who are known for good service. Tyr, a male Sparrow, and Ria, a female Raven. Sam remembers them well due to asking them for advice on many occasions, they were very kind to her as an aspiring adventurer. Next to the Receptionist Desks was the Job Board, where clients put the jobs they needed to be taken care of. All adventurers look at the Job Board at around Morning, as that's when the jobs are put up.
However, Sam doesn't look at the Job Board and goes straight to the Receptionist Desk. Tyr notices her and greets her. "Ah, Sam, you came for today's Job, correct?"
"Yep! Are the other's here?" - Sam asked, not noticing the party that hired her.
"Hm, not yet, especially considering the fact that you are early by...thirty minutes, give or take."
"R-really? Aww..." -Sam replied disappointed.
"You should try and be more patient, Sam, they are an experienced party, exactly the kind you will need to rank up" - Ria interjected.
"Yeah, I know." -Sam responded. She was currently Copper Rank, the lowest ranking in the Guild, considered the Beginner ranking. The Rankings go in the order of: Copper, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Steel, Platinum, Mithril, and Orichalcum. Orichalcum being reserved for only legendary adventurers. "Can I look at the job again? Just until they come."
"Sure thing, give me a second to find it." and saying so, Tyr went into the records room to find it. Luckily, Tyr is very good at his job, so just as Sam was about to get bored, Tyr came back with three papers.
"Here it is, 'The Old Lenthor Ruins'! That place hasn't been explored in a long while if I remember correctly, so there should be a lot of monsters cobbled up inside. Why, I remember..." -As Tyr was talking, Sam looked at the piece of paper, and read it carefully.
The Old Lenthor Ruins is an old dungeon site, placed in the Lenthor Forest. It's origins remain to this day a mystery, some people think it a military base, some a religious sanctuary. What it is known for, is for it's immense size inside, and the Magic Beasts that make it their home. It has a lot of floors, making it the largest dungeon in the country. However, It has been avoided by many in recent years, due to the already high difficulty level becoming even higher. This job is to clean out the surface levels of the ruins, as monsters have been noted to be seen coming out of the ruins, some even near the villages.
This job is exactly what Sam needed to rank up. She has gotten pretty good as a Carrier, and is well knowledgable of the forest and the Magic Beasts within them. Another factor that made her overjoyed to accept it, was the party that hired her as an escort. As that very same party-
"Sam, are you listening? Jeez, everytime I talk my heart out, you ignore me!" -shouted Tyr.
"Whoops, sorry Mr. Tyr, I got carried away reading the job." -said Sam in response.
"Hmph, well it wouldn't be you if you weren't easily distracted." -Tyr sighed.
"Oh please, Tyr, give the poor girl a rest, she is going on an adventure of a lifetime, she doesn't need an old bird like you teasing her." -said Ria, with a smug look.
"You..! I was not trying to tease her, she needs to be prepared-" -Tyr was saying, until he got cut himself short by the door opening. The silence that fell wasn't due to the sound of the door opening(it wasn't noisy at all), but due to the identity of the person who opened the door.
"Mr. Ashuran!" -Sam called out, and went towards the party who entered the Guild.
The party that had hired Sam's services was not an ordinary party. It was composed of 4 people, a swordsman, a mage, an archer, and a priestess. Ashuran was the swordsman, he was a Tiger Beast-kin, he wore Iron plate armor around his chest, arms and legs, with chainmail to cover up the unprotected parts. His sword was made of steel, and had a tiger emblem. He had an intimidating, but trustworthy look. Next was the mage, Aruha, an Eagle Beast-kin, who had brown feathers on her body and white feathers on her head. She wore mage robes, and held a staff made from Mahogany. The archer's name is Goyu, a Fox Beast-kin. His fur is layered in different colors, orange on the outside with white on the inside. His armor is made up of fine leather, good for quick and easy movement. The last member of the party was a Mouse Priestess, Nie. She was just a little smaller than Sam, but she had a much more mature look. Her robes were white and pristine, and her scepter looked grand and holy.
The Guild was shaken up a bit as the party had appeared. Murmurs began to appear, the usual case with the type of people these adventurers were.
These people, these adventurers, were all Gold ranked. They were quite popular within the village as they were aspiring adventurers who climbed up the ranks, in just 3 months. They were so aspiring, that many thought they would reach legendary status in 10 or so years. Needless to say, Sam looked up to them, and they were always sharing their stories with her. When they approached her asking for her to guide them through Lenthor Forest and be their carrier? She was ecstatic!
"Oh, there you are Sam! Early as ever, I see?" -said Ashuran, noticing the little Cat girl running up to them.
"That's good, an adventurer always has to be ready" -replied Aruha.
"So, shall we go?" -asked Ashuran.
"Yeah, let's!" -replied cheerfully Sam.
"That's the spirit! If we hurry we might even make it till nightfall!" -Said Ashuran, and they all exited the Guild.
The two receptionists watched them exit. Just as Sam was about to leave, he waved to Tyr and Ria. They both waved back.
"I hope everything works out..." -Tyr said.
"You're such a worrywart, Tyr. If this continues your feathers will fall out." -Ria replied.
"R-Ria!" -Tyr said with an embarresed look. Ria laughed at how well she managed to ruffle up Tyr's feathers.
"Still, don't worry so much, she is in good hands" -said Ria to calm his nerves.
"Yes... She will be alright."
And with that, the Adventurer's Guild continued like before, while the party had set off, to Lenthor Forest.
