"According to the system, the difference between a Creature and a Monster is their origin. Monsters are creatures of mana and they spawn where ever mana pools in sufficient amounts creating stronger monsters depending on the level of mana concentration and its potency. This makes some completely evil creatures like goblins in the same category as humans and some harmless animals being categorised as monsters like the six-legged Reiter."

 

-Extract from a diary of a professor teaching at Oriripol Academy.

 

---

 

As the sun slowly rose above the horizon and with it, the first waking rings of a distant bell tower rolled over the still slumbering Marinya. The city began to come back to life after the bell's deep rumble disappeared and its slowly reviving racket of Marinya's daily life started to creep through an open window into a certain dimly lit room with two shadowy figures laying in a bed, tucked in the corner of the small room.

One of the figures stirred and stretches from its peaceful slumber and upon opening her blue and golden eyes she saw the soft pale skin of her creation's back which sparkled weakly in the thin sun rays entering in through the singular window in the centre of the back wall. The elf's long black hair still stayed braided around her head, being barely able to cover her ears which still peaked out slightly. Kia's arms enveloped Iris's pleasantly warm torso in a hug, the elf had pressed Kia's arms to her chest. She straightens her legs from their curled-up position and lifted her head, barely managing to peek above the elf to gaze around the room. She notices a pile of grey clothing thrown messily onto the chair at the side of their bed. She remembered what Iris did yesterday and her cheeks began to feel warm, squashing her face against the cold back of Iris in the embarrassment of the memory. Only after she had calmed down her mind began to wonder about her comfortable headrest which has not woken up or greeted her like she usually does.

 

The ancient monster wriggled around pleasantly under the soft covers, savouring the touch of Iris's skin. She found it beyond mesmerizing that that her creation's hands were be slightly rough and callous giving them relaxing feeling as she absentmindedly ran her fingers across her palms. Sadly her own body was uniform in smoothness making it boring compering to elf's interesting "imperfections" which she felt did not diminish her creation's worth, only improving her.

Eventually finding the passive relishing in the wonderful feeling to be slightly boring and wanting to be doted on by Iris at least for a short moment before they have to go down to the outsiders and then have to stop speaking. For the weak outsiders don't know the necromancer's language, unlike Iris. At least the girl seemed to humour herself in watching Iris interect with funny speaking beings called huemans.

 

"Yes?" The elf sleepily spoke up after the girl gently leaned on her a little to much.

 

"Good morning, slept well~ Hehe."

 

"Good morning, I see you sleep w..." Iris replied while turning to face her saviour, suddenly stopping and biting her lower lips. Her cheek flared up and turned red making the poor ancient wonder had something failed inside her creation, perhaps she had forgotten about so spell.

 

"What's wrong?" Eventually, Kia asked with a worried tone at Iris's rapid and erratic breathing.

 

"I-I'm f-fine j-just t-tired." She turned back from me. *Smack* Iris smacked her cheek and stood up quickly covering her body with the previously clothes from the previous night.

 

"Are you sure?" Kia asked worried about Iris's behaviour. The elf cheeks were already their usual pale colour leaving no mark of the slap.

 

"Yes, I am fine now let's go." Iris rapidly spoke while giving Kia a greyish-black cloak which felt slightly uncomfortable and rough against her exposed arms but not in the way the elf's palm's were rough.

 

The two hurriedly leave their room and Iris went straight to Mira who was sorting through some papers.

 

"Hello."

 

"Hello, How can I help." Mira did a small bow toward Iris before inquiring about their business.

 

"About our badges, are they ready?"

 

Mira gestured to wait with her finger and went through the door behind her, coming back with orange-brown badges in the shape of a monstrous skull with two swords crossing each other behind the skull.

 

"Here you go, they have your names magically engraved on the reverse and will change colour once you reach a sufficient rank in our guild. There are 6 ranks which you can obtain and they are: Copper, Silver, Gold, Mithril, Adamite and Crimson rank and they all have some privileges attached to them but that's when you get them." Mira winked at the two.

 

"So we can just travel around, kill a monster and bring their parts to you, yes?" The raven black-haired elf spoke.

 

"Yes, but it is worth more to get a quest from the quest board at whatever guild you might find yourself in. Just be sure to take a quest with your rank number on it." Mira pointed her finger with a painted nail toward a big board with a lot of paper slips attached to it. "I have to say this but, It is not required to be a certain rank to take the quest but if you value your life then stick to your rank quests." She says with a wince but then gives Iris the orange badges who put them in a satchel on her belt with a swift movement.

 

"Thank you very much." Both of the elves noded to each other in a way the ancient felt to casual before Iris looked down on her, causing the surprised necromancer scrambling to nod like her creation did.

 

A small smile returned on Iris's face and she offers the mage her hand, with an expected result the pale hooded girl quickly took it with pleasure and was led toward the quest board. The wooden board which is half-filled with announcements which are dived into categories like; Extermination, Escort, Tracking, Exploration, Finding and Miscellaneous. And the quest themselves had their upper-left corners painted in certain colours like yellow or white.

 

Iris looked at Kia after reading the papers which appeared nothing but child's scribbles to the mage and whispered, "Do you want to do any of them or go back to travelling around?"

 

The ancient looked around and choose a quest saying "Goblin Extermination!" which had its corner painted yellow and give it to Iris.

 

The elf narrowed her purple eyes at the girl, her question already existing in her purple eyes. "You sure?"

 

"It sounds interesting." Kia retorted with a shrug, causing the frown on Iris's face to deepen and then disappear when she massages her forehead with her fingers.

 

They leave the Adventures Guild finding themselves overlooking the busy port of Marinya. As Kia followed Iris, their fingers intertwined as they strolled slowly between the humans. Kia observed the humans around herself finding many of their ways to be bizarre and fascinating at once. She also noticed a human who is selling burned meat chunks which are impaled on sharpened sticks.

 

"Kia?" Iris said after being stopped by Kia who was staring at the humans with the weird weapon.

 

The girl pointed at the stand with her slender finger.

 

"You want shashlik?" The elf asked causing the undead to hesitantly nod her head.

 

"Hello, how much are two of these?" Iris said after she approaching the merchant selling weapons called "shashlik".

 

"8 copper each." The merchant retorted in an instant.

 

"Then two please," Iris said pulling her coin pouch from a satchel on her belt.

 

"Have a great day." The merchant says giving the elf her sticks for the copper metal plates.

 

Iris gave the shorter undead one of the weird sticks with meat and bites it. Kia stare at the risen with utter confusion eventually gathering enough will to replicate Iris nibbling on the small chunk of the burned meat on the stick.

 

"MMMmmm!" Kia let out a squeal of pure delight as her mouth was filled with goodness. Her embarrassing squeals muffleed as she greedily dug into the meat causing the elf watching it all to start to worry that the mage will try to eat the stick. Kia put her hand on her pale cheek and swayed from side to side from the delight she was tasting.

 

"I start to feel jealous~" A voice came from beside her but she completely ignored it being too preoccupied with the delicious meal in my mouth. "No, no, no. You can't eat wooden stick, I think." Iris eventually grabbed the sharpened stick away from the mage. Kia felt the joy disappear as her face sunk with an expression of sadness from the lack the shashliks. The elf bit her meal once more before surrendering her deliciousness to the petite devourer.

 

Iris shook her head while smiling in Kia's direction. She grabed Kia's arm holding the deliciousness and continued her walk toward the northern gate while Kia tried to continue eat the proverbial carrot on the stick. When they pass the brick gatehouse the elf spoke again, somehow sensing through Kia's cloak that she was sad having been dragged since finishing my food or rather that she didn't have any more of the deliciousness.

 

"I can't really cook well but if you want to eat that bad I can buy ingredients in Marinya and I can cook for you when we are on the road? Now can I get a bit more cheerful Kia or maybe I shall call you Sadyicu~"

 

"Hmph!" Kia huffed and began to pout under her cloak, aiming her confused emotions at Iris.

 

After a long time of walking, Kia saw weird white and black four-legged creatures which ate the green grass.