Arc | Chapter. 20: Request (Patreon)

Chapter. 20: Request

Without hesitation I gently slapped the hand away, there was no hostility in the action but I wasn’t going to take any chances with the person. There was a pause, from the woman as I spoke up.

“Yes, I’m Arc, don’t try that again.”

She massaged her wrist for a moment before shaking her head.

“Sorry, I guess my intentions were misguided,” she spoke softly. “Don’t mind what I was about to do, I just wanted to reassure you, but I was also curious about you.”

“Curious?” I raised my brow.

“Rumors spread very fast, everyone is talking about the person that got awarded a Medal of Bravery, though from the looks of it, you’re no longer wearing it. Did you lose it?”

“I didn’t lose it, I have no use for a shiny pin. I don’t need to be told I’m brave to know I’m brave.” I shook my head. “Besides what was the hand for?”

“I told you, I wanted to reassure you.” She shook her head with a sigh. “People rarely seem to get it. Sorry for startling you, I would’ve dealt with that man either way.”

I decided to ignore whatever weirdness was in her head in regards to reassuring me that way, and simply spoke the obvious.

“You know I could’ve knocked him out just as easily, right? I need no reassurance.”

She chuckled. “Of course, you got a Medal of Bravery for a reason, that’s not why I did that to him.”

Then she turned to the man on the counter as her voice turned cold.

“He has been harassing women in the guild for a couple of weeks now and I guess since it's my last day here, I just had about enough.”

She shook her head and opened her hood up only to reveal a red-haired woman of green eyes.

“Sorry about that, I’m Rory, a B Tier adventurer, sorry for earlier.” And she extended her hand towards me.

I nodded and gave her a very gentle handshake.

“Arc, C Tier…”

She raised her brow as I let go of her hand, and she examined it. “You know, I would’ve thought you were the same Tier as me, a Medal of Bravery at C Tier isn’t a common thing, on top of that I have resistance against all elements, and I’m certain that if I held you for too long I’d get frostbite.”

Then her mouth turned to a smile.

“Well it’s nice to see you’re such a powerful mage.”

Before I could say anything an old man came back to the counter; the Guildmaster based on his attire. And he seemed to have business with the girl I had just met.

“Rory, your request has been processed, submit proof of completion at any branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

She nodded, and immediately turned around covering her head with the hood again. “Well it was nice meeting you Arc, should fate want it, we shall see each other again. Hopefully next time you will want to be reassured.”

And with those words, she left the guild, waving farewell to me.

“Huh.” Ceylon was the first one to speak. “She’s surprisingly nice—” And the man on the ground groaned. “Except for that…”

I shook my head. “She’s weird, that reassurance she wants to give me, I think I know what it is, but I certainly don’t want it.”

Then I turned to the plastered man on the counter and couldn’t help but notice that no one was doing anything about it. I regarded the Guildmaster that seemed to be getting ready to leave.

“Is no one going to do anything about it?”

The old man chuckled. “Of course not.”

And with those words he grabbed whatever papers he needed and left, entering a door. Then, the receptionist finally stood up. I could see small splinters of wood on her hair, much to my confusion. Then laying out papers on the desk, she smiled at me.

“Sorry with the splinters it was a bit harder to look through requests, but here are two of them.” With that she pushed forward the two requests. “Though…”

“Though?” I asked with some confusion.

“I overheard you are Arc, the person that was awarded a Medal of Bravery just yesterday.”

I nodded. “Does literally everyone know?”

“Medals of Bravery are registered on the magical database of Draliz, they include a brief description of the subject and their feat. Those with access to it will be in the know, of course, the list has hundreds if not thousands of names, but new entries aren’t something that happens daily.”

“So temporary fame,” I mused.

“That is correct,” the receptionist beamed. “But well, that’s not really relevant. You saved a Dark Knight from the crutches of the Black Market.”

“Right…” I nodded.

“That is something only a very strong individual can achieve, someone at B Tier at least, but you’re not that. And that can only mean one thing.”

For a moment, I felt the smallest tinge of nervousness. But I still managed to not react.

“What is it?”

“Would you accompany me to see the Guildmaster? There is perhaps one more request you’d be interested in, though it’s not offered to everyone.”

I raised my brow, now more interested than anything. “Sure, but only if Ceylon can come.”

I gestured to my side, my companion shrank for a moment under the scrutiny of the receptionist, but the woman just nodded.

“Of course.”

Ceylon shook her head. “It’s fine, I can stay here really, it seems like something that shouldn’t be public information anyway⁠—”

“No, you’re coming,” I said with a small frown. “You might have that ring now but I still don’t trust it.”

Ceylon blinked, and then slowly nodded, knowing that she couldn’t refuse. Then with a small cough, the receptionist called our attention.

“Do follow me.”

We nodded in unison, and she led us to the door behind the counter. There was knocking, before a gruff voice called us in, and the office was quite⁠— unassuming really. It was akin to a square with decoration on the walls and a single desk with two chairs for guests.

Ceylon and I took a seat as the Guildmaster scrutinized us. And after we got comfortable the receptionist spoke up with another cough.

“Sir, I believe that the white adventurer, Arc, is suitable for that request. She is looking for requests in the northwest.”

The old man raised his brow and nodded. “Very well, I’ll consider it, you may leave.”

The receptionist nodded and left the room, and with that we were alone with the old man. He sat there, his bald head shining, his sunken eyes gazing at us as he grabbed his hairless chin thinking. Finally, after a moment, he asked.

“Who are you?”

I blinked. “I’m Arc?”

“I know that.” He shook his head. “I mean to ask, for what reason did you get a recommendation for this request?”

“Oh, I don’t really get it either, for this I guess?” I said taking the golden pin out of my pocket. “Seems a bit… dunno.”

The Guildmaster raised his brow and nodded. “I see, so that’s why you’re here.” Then he shook his head. “But with this request you may die.”

And then there was silence as he waited for my reply. Finally, after another two seconds I had enough and massaged my temples.

“Okay, but what is the request?”

“Did you not hear me? I said you might die,” he said, shaking his head. “Young people are so rash.”

His comment made me frown as a sigh left me. “Look, if you don’t tell me the request I will have no clue how I’ll die. I could have a brain aneurysm and drop dead right here. That doesn’t mean I should stop leaving.”

“Brain aneurysm…?” Ceylon asked with confusion.

The man blinked. “Brain… what? Is that a new slang?”

At that moment, I plopped on the chair and asked somewhat exasperatedly, holding onto the armrests. “Will you just say the details? More bullshit and I’ll leave.”

“So rash⁠—” And the armrest cracked. The Guildmaster paused. “The request is to search for clues of a dragon at Mount Arlais. An A Tier zone.”

“Dragon? I asked with confusion.

“Dragons, being of legends, yada yada.” He waved his hand. “They range from S Tier to SS Tier, it’s not something we can afford to startle, but at the same time we do require intel. With proof of course.”

I tilted my head. “Wait, if it's that simple, where is the chance of death?”

“You⁠— are you deaf?” The Guildmaster asked, this time ticked off. “A Tier zone, and the possibility of a monster of legend, what⁠— there is a real chance that you die right then and there even if you go into its vicinity!” he growled.

“I mean, yeah I guess… but if it’s information I should be able to do it.” I shook my head. “Though I don’t even know if I want this request or not, what happens if I fail it?”

The old man blinked. “Are you asking me if there are any specific consequences to failing this request, or what happens if you fail a request?”

“Both I guess?” I asked with confusion.

“When did you become an adventurer?” He asked with a frown.

“Two days ago, is that a problem?” I asked, raising my brow.

“I suppose not.” The old man sighed. “Failing over five requests a year will have your license revoked. As for specific consequences to failing this, not really. But why are you not sure about not taking the request if you are confident in being able to do it?”

“Well to begin with, I’m not confident about gathering information,” I sighed. “And also.” I turned to Ceylon. “Does the destination cause any conflict with where we are going?”

“Oh.” She blinked. “Our destination is Mount Arlais.”

There was a pause before I nodded, and turned back to the Guildmaster who seemed more confused than anything.

“We want the request.”

He shook his head. “Not so fast. Why are you rushing through everything?”

“Well, am I missing some detail I’m unaware of?”

“How about the payment, or maybe even the time you have to do the request?” He asked before letting out a sigh. “You are helpless…”

“Oh, I mean, what do I even get and what’s the time period?”

“I was getting to that,” he said exasperatedly. “The payment will be scalable, from one gold coin all the way to ten cobalt coins depending on how good and accurate the intel is.”

“I see, sounds nice.”

“It’s pretty nice actually,” Ceylon whispered to me.

The Guildmaster continued. “And as for the time period, you will have three weeks to deliver any relevant information to an Adventurer’s Guild. The fact that you have undertaken this request will be logged in the database of the guild. Failures and completions will too be logged, as well as your Tier should it go up, etcetera.”

I nodded. “I see, anything else I should know when undertaking this request?”

“Don’t be overconfident,” he said, closing his eyes.

“That’s not possible.” I shook my head.

“That just sounds like overconfidence, but don’t blame me if you die.” The Guildmaster sighed. “You young people are so stubborn really. If I had been that rash during my life, I would’ve never made it to A Tier.”

Ceylon paused. “Wait, you⁠— sir you are A Tier?”

He nodded slowly, grabbing his chin in thought. “Indeed, though it has been decades since I saw battle. I should probably give it one last try, it gets my heart going.”

I raised my brow, and he continued.

“It’s a feeling unlike happiness, unlike excitement, it’s adrenaline. It’s a feeling of victory, of triumph, of power. It’s an addictive thing that makes you want more, but sadly the more bodies that are at your wake the more disappointing each fight feels, yet you yearn for more, for those challenges that take your everything to overcome.”

Then he smiled.

“It’s everything I yearn for.”

And this time I interjected, speaking to the old man.

“It’s not something I thought I’d love, let alone live for, but I found myself without choice, and at some point I started to enjoy it. That thrill, that feeling of pride and superiority, and now I seek for more. To grow stronger, to overcome my limits over and over again. But now, I desire a normal life, I’ve fought enough, I should look for something else.” I met the old man’s gaze. “Are those not your thoughts?”

He nodded slowly. “So you feel the same way?” Then he shook his head. “Your struggles are nothing compared to mine⁠—”

I interrupted. “It’s not about struggles, it’s not about who suffered more. It’s about you.”

“How is it about me?”

“You’ve given up on this passion, otherwise you wouldn’t have spent decades without fighting,” I said as I stood up. “If your younger self heard about giving up on it, what would he think?”

He blinked, and before he could say anything, I sighed.

“No, it’s not right to say it, but I will say this; you won’t ever be that happy, nothing else is a replacement for that feeling. If you feel unhappy now, it won’t change.”

He chuckled. “Yes you are right, I know that, but what would you know? You’ve never seen something that felt impossible, an insurmountable barrier.”

“Oh but I have.” I chuckled, letting my feelings take a bit too much control as the chair began to freeze. “However, this is not about me. You can do what you want to do old man, I cannot force you to pursue your dreams once more.”

He blinked looking at the chair, and then nodded.

“I’ll keep those words in mind, Arc.” Then he reached for a paper under his desk and promptly handed it to me. “Take this to a receptionist so the request is officially accepted.”

I grabbed the paper and stood up. Heading for the door.

“Let’s go, Ceylon.” She nodded and quickly caught up to me. Then I turned to the old man. “Thank you for the request.”

He laughed. “No, thank you. You are a hero aren’t you?”

“Well, I did save a dark knight, so yeah, I guess so?” I agreed with confusion.

And he shook his head, chuckling as he met my gaze, his eyes narrowing.

“No, not that. You are a hero aren’t you? The Heroine of Frost.”