Stefano's Promotion

"Hey." Yulia leaned at Myrene's desk, her tone somber as she gauges the reaction of her ex.

It's been 2 weeks since their official break up, Yulia wasn't the  presumptuous type to bother Myrene just to check if she had already moved on, Yulia needed to face her since she had a request to make.

Myrene glanced at the tiefling with indifference, "Hey."

An awkward silence overtakes them both, that's all Yulia needed to verify that they had indeed moved back to being strangers. Friendships after relationships aren't really her thing so their current state of affairs is a welcomed one. At least it doesn't seem like Myrene hated her. She hopes.

Dispersing the air of awkwardness, it was Yulia who spoke first.

"Stefano's going to take his rank up assessment later, you see. I was just wondering if you can match him with Voz?"

Myrene narrowed her brow in confusion, " I can, but why? Do you want that friend of yours to fail?"

"It's for his own good, he's been in a dungeon but he's still too green. Besides, if he fails he could use it as a learning experience and try again. It's a win-win."

Myrene's light chuckle lightened up the mood between them.

"I don't think he's going to take it as a win when Voz drives his sword into his thigh." 

"If it gets to that point then I've been a terrible mentor for him." Yulia faintly smiled.

"Alright, Yulia. I'll see to your request. If that is all then…I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I'll see you around." Yulia was about to depart, until she remembered that she had one last thing to say. "Oh, and Myrene, thank you."

A heartfelt thanks, not just for the request but for the short time that they had spent together . Brief it may have been, it still made Yulia genuinely happy.

+++

High above, the midday sun glazed over the guild's training area. There were spectators on the sidelines but they weren't that many. The promotion match of a bronze to a silver hardly gains traction.

Among them were the couple offering Stefano their support. Yulia and the mermaid soon joined them.

Gloria rolled in front of the two and immediately gave Antani a heartfelt smile along with a greeting. For Ellamir a gaze that bordered on antagonism. "Hello, Ellamir."

"Hello, Gloria." Ellamir mirrored Gloria's antagonistic tone which was loaded with faint hostility. 

Oddly enough, they don't hate each other, it was just some residual bad blood due to their first meeting. They could not help to slowly but positively get under each other's skin.

"How did the negotiations go?" Antani asked.

"They went splendidly, all thanks to Althea. Pretty sure we won't have to worry about those warijans for a long time. Did you know that they asked for your head?" Yulia declared with nonchalance.

This of course roused Ellamir, if those damned Snake people ever tried to harm Antani again she would go to their desert kingdom so she could personally raze their guild into the ground. And she hates sand.

Sensing Ellamir's agitation, Yulia quickly followed up her statement.

"But thanks to Althea's foolproof negotiation tactic of cutting the other party's hand, they immediately rescinded. To wrap it up, we just gave them a small chest of gold coins, told them to fuck off and never bother us again."

"Gold coins for the life of an emerald adventurer, it's quite morbid if you think about it. Don't you think so?"  Antani glanced to her side, soliciting Ellamir's take on the matter.

"What's morbid is how that assassin turned you into stone, if I was the guild master they would never have gotten even a single silver coin from me. Where the fuck is that slippery wizard anyway!?"

Tomorrow marks the end for Ellamir's penance, wanting to end it early so she could get back at Antani for all the erotic stuff she had put her through, Ellamir tried to scour the entire Guild but not even a trace of the Grand wizard could be found. 

One might argue that the tables have only been turned and she most definitely enjoyed it, but Ellamir could feel her pride as a dominant slip through her grasp as Antani's sadistic streak motivated the amazon to make full use of what was supposed to be Ellamir's very own 'equipment'.

Ellamir could only describe it as the sweetest form of torment. The dark elf could only shudder as she hazard a guess as to what Antani had in store for her tomorrow since it will be the last day before their nethers swap back to the way they used to be.

Back at the training area, Stefano's opponent had arrived.

The Goblin's light armor, along with his helmet  were scratched and weary, attesting to how much of a hardened warrior he is. Armed with a small round shield and a shortsword. Hunting armaments like a bola and sleeping darts were jutting out of his back pouch. 

"Alright, the match between the Bronze ranked Stefano and the Silver ranked Voz begins now." Myrene stepped out of the Arena. 

Stefano kneeled in front of the goblin so he could better greet his opponent, "Why hello there, little green fella! I look forward to fighting you!"

*Bam*

The goblin's reply was his round shield smacking Stefano's face, the shame from the  impact shaking him to his very core. 

"HWAAAAAH!" Voz released a rabid battle cry as he unsheathed his sword from his waist. 

The expression underneath his helmet was that of wild fury. 

Wasting no time as his opponent is still disoriented, the goblin let loose a thrust aimed towards the base of Stefano's neck. 

Horror flashed in Stefano's face as he could see the goblin's blade fast approaching. 

(Holy shit, this goblin is trying to kill me!)

The cleric's training kicked in, and his own short shield intercepted the goblin's lethal attack, following it up with a mace swipe counter. 

His mace hit nothing but air as the goblin's agility allowed him to jump backwards, evading swiftly while gaining some distance for his next attack. 

Bloodlust sparked in the goblin's eyes as he retrieved the bola from his back pouch. 

Voz spins his bola ominously, threatening Stefano. "I'm going to bust your kneecaps, buddy!"

Stefano readied his mace and shield. Never before had he wanted to punt a small creature so badly. 

"What the hell is your problem!?"

"You think you can just challenge me out of the blue knowing my reputation?"

That reputation being the most ruthless silver adventurer in the guild. No gold adventurer wants to fight him in fear of getting stabbed to death, his rank up for gold had long since been due. 

"I did NOT challenge you, you crazy goblin! Weren't you picked at random!?"

Not even bothering to answer, the goblin threw his bola. Stefano tried to strafe but the projectile proved too fast.

The cleric was brought down pitifully like an animal hunted, unable to balance himself with his legs forcefully bound. 

Voz let off another battle cry as he charged the vulnerable Stefano. 

With the fear of being slaughtered, Stefano's chest was thumping like crazy. He tried to wrack his brain, desperately trying to recall what Yulia said the proper course of action was when you're in a pinch. 

As Stefano remembered, the grip on his mace tightened to match his resolve. 

The tiefling's instructions were clear as day, even the most miniscule spells would help when you're in dire straits, use everything in your arsenal to turn a hopeless situation around. 

Stefano can use his Divine protection but the force field would leave no room for him to retaliate. 

The cleric waits until the goblin is in striking distance. He knew just the perfect spell. 

Once the goblin was close enough, Stefano raised his mace. "Holy light!"

Originally a spell used for illuminating dark places, Stefano overloaded the necessary mana it needed. The bright light was so luminous that it seared every onlookers' eyes, forcing them to either cover them or just close their lids entirely.

Even the goblin was rendered temporarily immobile as he was the closest to the source of the blinding light. 

Delivering a mace from an awkward angle, he made sure his swing contained all the power he could muster. Stefano's mace bludgeoned the goblin's helmet. 

The green menace twisted and turned before eventually collapsing unconscious.

Myrene declared the victor. 

"The winner and is now ranked silver, Stefano!"