Father and Daughter

Soravita was displeased.

She was climbing the rankings at record speed, pushing herself to provide proof of her efforts, proof that she no longer needs to be pampered.

She only became an adventurer less than a year ago so it spoke volumes of her abilities. She was on track to becoming the youngest A-rank adventurer since the establishment of the capital guild several centuries ago. The previous record holder achieved an A-rank in 1 year and 76 days since joining at 26 years old.

There were extensive details when Soravita went through that specific records in the archive and albeit they were a tall order for her currently, she was determined to outshine that genius.

Soravita was nearly 10 years younger and easily over 100 days better. Although there were several regulations and restrictions she had to follow, by taking commissions beyond her rank and successfully completing them on time, her track record was piling up.

She was certain that her goal was certainly only a short matter of time. She was ecstatic not only because her efforts were paying off but also because she was one step closer to reaching her lifelong goal of being the strongest S-rank adventurer.

Her ambitions were largely in part due to all the stories her father, the guildmaster, told her as a child. Those expeditions he retold from his own experience always seemed so cool to her, even if her old man was constantly exaggerating details here and there.

She wanted to experience the same. Overcome all sorts of adversities, returning home with her spoil of war, evidence of a hard-fought battle, much like what her father used to do.

She wanted to follow in his footsteps, but at the same time, branch off into her own path after surpassing him.

She also wanted others to know that she, Soravita Avan, the daughter of the former S-ranked adventurer and current guildmaster of the capital, Kiston Avan was just as capable as, if not more than her father. There were other reasons as well but these ones stood out the most.

On her journey, one such obstacle she has been particularly wary of is the highly regarded Audar, an experienced A-rank adventurer in his thirties and the sole disciple of her father. She wasn't particularly close to him since he trained the most under her father before she was adopted.

Soravita would occasionally see Audar in the guild or in her father's office but they usually missed each other. She once challenged him to a spar on a rare occasion when they met but he was too busy to accept. He would use the same excuse every time she attempted a duel henceforth.

She tried to secretly follow Audar and his party to gauge their capabilities but was caught in no time. Thus, she never saw him fight in an actual battle.

Even when she did join 'The Wild Fang' recently, she has yet to bear witness to his full capabilities. She feels like he was holding back on their previous expedition together but isn't sure if it was out of consideration or arrogance.

Despite withholding his full strength, he has already proven to be skilled enough to at least be worthy of half the rumors attributed to him. He looks around 10 years older than herself, a hardened veteran of numerous battles, the several scars scattered around his body a testimony to his hard-fought victories.

He served as an exemplar of an A-rank and was also one she would overcome. To do that, she would first need to be on equal footing.

However, that goal seemed out of sight as of late when she learned that her father was intentionally withholding her promotion. She was furious and had a big argument with him although it was mostly her doing the arguing. He was oddly persistent and unrelenting even though he usually gave in to most of her demands.

It was a great contrast from his usual attitude which showcased how obstinate he can be when he wanted to. She couldn't convince him and left with indignation.

She has done her fair share of training to get to where she is now as her talents carried her along the bottom rankings. She understands that her own abilities are still undeserving of a higher rank. The top is still far out of reach as she has seen what someone who was once an S-ranked adventurer can do, even if they were well passed their prime, senile, and foolishly devoted to painting a cool image.

But Soravita believed that as a promising B-ranked adventurer, she was already among the upper-middle echelon of capable individuals, soon set to be among those at the peak on an equal footing. However, her promotion has been a major setback even though she has been taking on commissions beyond her rank regularly.

Her old man went on about protecting her or that she wasn't ready incessantly. After that argument, they didn't see each other for a week. Just when she was torn between checking up on him or staying clear until he apologized, her father reconciled by treating her to famous desserts from the imperial chef.

He explained that adventurers at A-rank and up had some obligations that came with their great freedom to act. He didn't explain it in full at the time so she felt that it was a bit ridiculous that being forced to do something and not, both things she hated and loved respectively, were together.

For some reason, her father went in-depth on how these high-ranked adventurers were full of quirky figures and felt that if she were in a party with any of them, she would be devoured by one of them because of how pretty and naive she is. Soravita threw a tantrum at being treated like a child which caused no small trouble for her old man.

Not long after that tantrum incident, she was somehow scouted and accepted in 'The Wild Fang.' Soravita took it as an opportunity, to accept with other intentions in mind, such as proving to her father that she was no longer a kid.

She had no idea that it was all pre-arranged by her dad for her safety.

Even though she may not show it at times, she greatly respects and adores her foster father. He adopted her when she was at her lowest out on the streets.

After that, she was well-fed, clothed in fancy dresses, and got to live in a moderately sized and well-furnished house like a princess. Although he was very awkward around her at first, and herself the same, they slowly grew more comfortable around each other.

The guildmaster, was notoriously ill-tempered prior to their relationship until he spent a few years together caring for her. A once solely revenge-driven man, who trained so desperately his hands bled from the callouses regularly, had become a doting father seemingly overnight. Having lost his own family due to his lacking abilities, he managed to climb the tower to the top but lost sight of the path forward when his goal was achieved.

A dear comrade at the time managed to convince him to take on the position of guildmaster after putting in great efforts to persuade him. He was surprisingly adept at his new job but was infamous for never smiling. He had no reason to, in his mind, as he hid his sorrow and despair by doing the paperwork.

Those close to him had no idea how to help him and could only shake their head helplessly. People thought he had finally gone mad when he picked up a girl off the streets out of nowhere, telling them he was going to adopt her. They didn't stop him though, since he had finally gone out of his way to do something else other than eat, sleep, and work.

It took him a while to adapt to his new lifestyle, and he was still the same old grumpy workaholic at the beginning. But it didn't take long for that to change entirely.

Many veterans who were around before the change still remember it decisively, the moment when that iron wall of a man broke down into tears in front of everyone.

It was when his young foster daughter brought him a present for his birthday which he had forgotten for how many years. There wasn't much she could do or make with those small hands of her but it was an earnest gift nonetheless.

That small gesture tugged at his heartstrings and made him reminiscent of memories he had buried but still cherished dearly. That instance was when he truly thought of Soravita as his own daughter. He was determined not to make the same mistake.

Since then, he did a complete 180 and has become an extremely doting father who doesn't spare any time to express his love. His once emotionless face was full of smiles every time he thought of his daughter and was even brighter whenever they were together.

That was why he was all the more reluctant to see her grow stronger. He knew the difficulties that came with such strength and ambitions. As a result, he wanted nothing more than for his daughter to grow up normally. Of course, for such a talent, it was impossible.

Soravita's actual combat experience is severely lacking, in particular with foes of equivalent or superior capabilities, tactics, and pure strength. Her youth and relatively smooth journey after her harsh training have a developed sense of arrogance in her.

She herself has yet to realize it but constant praise by those around her has been a negative influence. Her temperament at the moment is unbefitting of a proper adventurer and is at odds with her own strengths. At the rate at which it is developing, she will meet an untimely death once she is promoted to an A-rank adventurer.

The guildmaster has doted on her considerably, proving to have a hand in the current issue, unintentionally. He was conflicted about how he should feel about his treasured daughter going down this arduous path.

What was the right way to approach this? Should he encourage her despite knowing of the dangers ahead on her path? Or should he stop her before it's too late to regret it?

The guildmaster's memories of his deceased family came to mind. A renweked sense of determination filled him.