[This was a horrible idea and you're an idiot.] Voice remarks as Al and the others run for their lives. 

Al became an adventurer easily enough as he had a formal education in magic.

And he knew the guild was ALWAYS trying to add new mages to their ranks. 

Even barely competent ones. 

Plus. 

Al was planning on joining the guild after losing all his travel funds to the bandits.

So he could help Martha, become an adventurer and replenish his lost funds. 

It was a win-win-win. 

The issue came about when he tried to take Martha's Search and Rescue Quest.

The registrar, Rosalina, kindly asked that he take on a much 'simpler quest' that wouldn't have him away from the city for days.

Especially not with the approaching Eve.

Wouldn't do to have a 13 year old die out in the Wilds by himself, after all. 

But Al wouldn't budge no matter how much she suggested otherwise.

Defeatedly, she pulled a couple of favours to have Al temporarily join a party that was in the city.

[So kind.]

As a way of preventing the 'new rookie' from biting off more than he can chew.

[Still kind.]

The issue.

Half the party were lycanthropes.

[So?]

They were a race of powerful beings who could use the power of the moon to shift their forms. Though, not all of them could control this ability at will. 

Some even manifested a hybrid form. 

Not completely human or beast. 

A Demi-human. 

And Al had a sort of history with beasts of any kind.

You see.

There was a reason he never tended to his father's sheep and cattle as a child with the other village boys. 

And that was because, for some unexplained reason, animals hated him.

Seriously.

One time when he was a kid, he broke two of his ribs when a donkey had kicked him for existing within it's general premises.

Another time, he was chased around the village by a mad bull for half a day for breathing slightly too hard in it's general direction. 

[Damn. Ok]

And the goats. 

The goats. 

Let's just stay, when they were through with him he ultimately landed a three week stay in the Old Lady's cottage.

And a trauma of horns.

[Yikes.]

To summarize, Al was sure beasts had a hatred for him and would like nothing more than to slowly watch the life leave his eyes.

His new 'teammates' included.

Well, most of them. 

First, their was Dianna.

She had long flowing black hair and deep blue eyes.

She wore battle armour that was... 'fitting'... to say the least. 

Let's just say it didn't leave much to the imagination. She was extremely fast and powerful as she could lift a fallen tree alone. 

She was also a fully realized lycanthrope, which would greatly help with the quest. 

All this coupled with her elongated canines and the bastard sword she had strapped to her back, she cut off a very fierce demeanor.

Contrasting her teammate and sister, Kianna. Like her sister, she had black hair and blue eyes. 

Unlike her though, she had a pair of wolf-like ears situated atop her head and a long, furry tail.

Her weapon of choice was a pair of dark blue gauntlets that contrasted with her white 'armour'.

Which again, didn't leave much to the imagination. 

Both gave Al the stink-eye. 

Discretely, of course.

Overall, she seemed far more 'gentle', though. 

Finally, there was Lily. By far the kindest member of their team. She seemed to be of elven descent.

With her long, blonde hair and piercing green eyes, she was a serene beauty that had many heads turning as she walked by.

But she was also extremely dangerous with her bow, and getting in close with her was a death sentence as she had remarkable strength.

She wore the most 'modest' clothing of anyone on the team. Though, it consisted of a lot of straps.

She also was the only one that didn't seem to want to 'spare' Al the burden of living in the most brutal display of violence anyone could be put through.

So she was alright in his books. Though she talked funny. 

[Ehem.]

Overall. 

This was actually a fairly balanced party with the exception of a mage which Al now filled the role of temporarily. 

If you could call him one at the very least. 

The party was also predominantly female. 

Which was strange but not exactly rare as not many men worked as adventurers with their poor magical affinities. 

Most ended up joining the Knight's Templar or a mercenary group.

However, Al was a growing boy and this definitely made him feel super awkward.

'Why were they all so hot?' he would complain to Voice.

[Cheer up. Just think of it as poker-face practice.] Voice tried to help.

But it didn't help. 

Especially with the rumours that lycanthropes could also smell when one was aroused.

Stupid puberty.

[Amen to that, brother.]

Anyway. 

All the ladies here also had at least a basic understanding of magic.

Which was why none of them were pleased with Al's choice of quest, even if they didn't show it.

Well, some of them at the least.

"What do you think we're running here, a charity? 

The pay's far too low for a quest with such a potential risk. 

Cough up some more dough, Grandma, or were dropping the mission-" Dianna didn't get to finish her words though, as she was swiftly tackled by her sister.

Lily, thankfully, stepped in to spare the poor elderly siblings a heart attack:

"I apologize for my teammate's uncouth behavior. 

We would just like to inform you that we are taking up your mission at the behest of our colleague and friend, Mister Al," Lily spoke up.

"What's she saying Finn? " Martha asked quietly. 

To which he replied:

"No idea. 

But she said something about Al. And experience tells me nothing related to that boy is ever simple. 

Best we just wait and see."

And so, they took up the mission and immediately spent the next week looking for the missing father and daughter pair.

Which ultimately led to their current predicament.

They were being chased down by a Frost, a spirit of the cold.

And it was quickly gaining speed.

"Hold on, we just need to get to the hearth." Al said as he jumped over a fallen tree branch. 

The Hearth was a mystical ground he had prepared as soon as he possibly could to act as a temporary ward.

He also added in a salt barrier to provide a second layer.

Though he used a lot of the down payment they had gotten from Martha.

The hearth drew on the Sun's protective Power through a form of sacrificial ritual that took him ours to prepare.

Thankfully, he modified it to use his prana as a medium for consumption.

Though at the cost of leaving Al exhausted sustaining it for a week on end. 

Ritual preparation was the second form of Non-Attribute magic Al was proficient in. 

Now. 

They just had to get there and they would be relatively safe.

Suddenly. 

Dianna and Kianna stopped running.

They could feel the sun had finally set.

Taking in a deep breath, Dianna underwent a transformation.

The sounds of bones snapping was all the warning Al had before he was suddenly face to face with a Great Wolf.

The now transformed Dianna rushed on all fours towards the approaching Frost.

She lunged at the wraith-like being. 

Her attacks seeming to do some level of damage unlike all their previous attempts.

The area suddenly became enveloped with a sense of cold. 

But Al was swiftly picked up by a now partially transformed Kianna. Who broke out into full sprint for the hearth with Lily in tow.

All he could hear in the dead of the night was an explosion, the sound of crowing crows and a chilling wolf howl. 

They reached the hearth and began to recuperate as the sounds of battle continued. 

Several hours later, a slightly injured Dianna staggered into the camp that was set-up near the hearth. 

Where Lily tended to her physical wounds as Al did the same for the more mystical ones. 

"Fuck! That thing packed a punch," Dianna hissed as Al thawed her frozen shoulder using a piece of the hearth. 

She hissed again so Al decided to distract her with a question. 

"I thought fully realized  lycanthropes were resistant to most forms of magic and spiritual attacks when transformed?" Al questioned as Lily applied the bandages. 

Dianna snorted derivisely before answering:

"We're resistant, not immune. 

Higher tier magic and spirit attacks still affect us. 

Plus, transforming like this actually takes a lot more out of us than anything else.

So this is really a result of an unaided transformation. 

Though, this should mostly heal up in about an hour. 

But I'm exhausted. 

And hungry," Dianna finished before Kianna came over wordlessly to take her sister off his hands.

Their behavior was really starting to annoy him but they did just save his life so he wouldn't make anything of it.

Yet. 

[Well she doesn't like you.] Voice commented. 

'Tell me about it.' Al angrily stated in his head.

'Maybe I should get some payback?'

Before they could continue though, Lily called Al over. 

"It took a while, but the Forest Elder informed me of suspicious activities going on in a bandit camp nearby. 

Maybe we should go investigate? "

Finally.

A lead.

He was skeptical at first when Lily said she would " commune" with the Elder of the Trees to see if it would provide them with some info.

He thought she had gone crazy. 

But it actually worked.

Finally, they could finish this damn quest and he could continue on his journey to the Academy for the entrance exam. 

He was already a week behind schedule. 

Anyway.

Al was slightly jealous of the elves and lycanthropes. 

They had so many cool abilities on top of great compatibility with magic.

It made something ugly rear it's head in Al's head.

Whispering of the unfairness of it all. 

But he would ignore it. 

For now, all he needed to focus on was finding Martha's family.

Looking around, he saw Dianna's travel pack lying next to a tree.

He also saw a snail crawling up a log a bit of a distance away. 

Hmm.

A little payback wouldn't hurt anyone, right?