Prologue

"Every single time I see your face, I curse the gods for not making mine as handsome as yours." the guild clerk said with a frown, "You bastard." 

He was a large and burly man, with a thick beard and hair forearms, his left eye was swollen shut permanently due to an old injury. He wore the Guild uniform but even that could barely stay on his round body. 

The person he told that to was Daemon, a tall and muscular man that wore black-steel armor. He was referring to the fact that Daemon had dark crimson hair and brown eyes, a very handsome face that the young maidens all over town have constantly swooned over. His chiseled jawline was the source of many envy from other Adventurers and even the City Guards. 

Daemon frowned back, "If you didn't have pretty daughters, I'd imagined you'd sire nothing but trolls, you asshole." He said as he slammed a paper on the counter in front of him

They were inside the headquarters of the Adventurer Guild called Dragon's Fate, a famous Guild that has been the pride and joy of Drahan, the kingdom where this story takes place. The building was massive, with its main lobby large enough to house dozens of loud adventurers who were simply relaxing and having a good time, eating and drinking. 

Daemon, however, was in no mood for such luxuries. 

The Clerk looked at the paper, "What's this?" He asked as he picked it up

"You know." He said, "Another request form for the Hightowers Job." 

"Daemon, you stupid fool." the clerk grumbled with a scowl, "How many times do I have to tell you? You need a party for this Job! The Client won't allow a solo Adventurer!" 

Daemon slammed his hand on the counter hard, alarming those in the nearby vicinity. 

"I run solo, dammit!" he said with a frustrated scowl of his own, "How many years have I been with The Dragon's Fate? I've brought in the most money of the Platinum-Rank members!" 

"Tch, would've brought even more if you worked as a gigolo, you stupid bastard...." the clerk muttered

"You son of a-" Daemon reached over to grab him by the collar, "Just stamp the damned form and give me the Job!!" 

"No!" He said, "The Master and his assistants will have me fired! This is a high-class job, Daemon, it doesn't matter what your rank is, you need a party! Those are the rules, they've been highlighted completely!!" 

He pulled out a paper and pointed at some lettering on it. 

Daemon squinted his eyes and read: 

"Party of 5 or more required, NO exceptions."

"These guys, the ones that placed the Job all that time ago, they said that the Client is a very important Noble from Teo'varna....the land of Elves..... lots a money, lots of class...he is very strict." the clerk said

"That's why I want the job." Daemon said as he let him go, "Fuck. Why can't I get an exception?" 

"You may be a Platinum-Rank Adventurer, Daemon, but your reputation as an anti-social bastard is what drags you down." the clerk said as he patted the spot where Daemon slammed his hands on, "Thing is, even the Master has grown tired of that. This is an Adventurer's Guild, for centuries, Adventurers have formed Parties to get shit done. Do you think the Ancient Hero beat the Demon King by himself? He had a party! P-A-R-T-Y, ya he-" 

"I get it, dammit!" Daemon snapped

"Why're you obsessed with this job? It can't be the pay." the clerk asked, "You can get that amount of money in a few months-time if you want to run solo." 

"This is an easy job, easy coin." Daemon said rubbing his fingers in a money gesture, "But shit, I need a party after all...what's the minimum amount I need?" 

"5, which means you have to find 4 idiots who would be willing to go with you." The clerk said as he gestured past Daemon and into the lobby

Daemon turned around and saw the massive amount of other adventurers that were on the lobby, littered everywhere; on tables, leaning against walls, standing around, and just wandering around. Everyone was just having a good time, Daemon could tell. 

"Hm..." He said, "Wait I gotta split the pay five ways????" 

"That's how it works...." the clerk said

"Dammit...." Daemon said with a frown, "Alright.....I guess I can work with that." 

"Oh, there must be something else you want from this job, huh?" the clerk said as Daemon turned back to face him, "So you're going to form a party? This is a pivotal moment in history! Hey, Gals, Daemon is about to start a party!" 

He turned to call out the other clerk-girls that were working on the counters, all of them young girls that wore the clerk-uniforms. 

They smiled brightly, "Wooww~" one of them said, "Good, Daemon~" 

Daemon waved them off, "Yea yea..." He said as he leaned in, "So....how does a party work?" 

The clerk leaned in to him with a smirk, "You don't know?" 

"No, idiot, that's why I'm asking." Daemon said

The clerk chuckled and leaned back, "Well well.....I guess I can help you." He said, "A good Party composition would be the idea. A tank, a healer, a mage, an archer, and a fighter." 

"I see...." Daemon said, "Hm...." 

"You'll be a leader...and you're already classified as a fighter/tank." the clerk continued, "I've witnessed your fights first-hand, you'll be the Party's Leader and Tank. So all you need is a Healer, a Mage, an Archer, and a Fighter. All you gotta do is find-" 

"I'm a fighter." Daemon said

"You're also a tank. You can take damage like no other bastard I've seen." the clerk said with a scowl, "Don't interrupt me!" 

"Yea, but I'm a fighter." Daemon said pointing at the massive black greatsword strapped on his back, "I can dish out damage, offense is my forte, not defense...." 

"It doesn't matter....my point is that nobody that you recruit will be as tanky as you..." the clerk said, "Nobody can take damage like you....don't interrupt me again, I'm trying to help you!" 

"Alright, continue." Daemon said

"Okay, you need a Healer, obviously. Because you'll take the damage and after you're finished with the enemy, they can heal your wounds." the clerk said, "A Mage who has access to strong offensive and defensive spells. An Archer who specializes in long-range combat, a Rogue would be ideal, but a Ranger will do, I guess." 

Daemon nodded, "I see..." He said, "And the other fighter?" 

"Me~! Me~!" a bright voice said

"Huh?" the clerk said

Daemon turned around to see a short girl wearing a large white and silver dress that looked too baggy on her. She had big round glasses that made her green eyes pop out even more, she had long silver hair that was tied in a pony-tail. 

She was short, but anyone would be shorter than Daemon, who stood at 6'4. But this one was around 5'5, so she was a bit short. 

There was one thing that Daemon noticed about her, aside from the lunar designs on the dress she wore. It was the long sword that she carried in her arms, a long and decently wide blade that was sheathed in a silver decorative scabbard. The guard was also silver and on each side, there were two crescent moons attached to it by a chain. 

Daemon tilted his head, "Who're you?" He asked

"I'm Lydia~!" The girl said, "I'll be your Fighter, it'll be an honor to be on the side of the famous Daemon!" 

"You're just a girl." Daemon said, "Hey, Crowley, how old is this one?" 

"Lydia....a Silver-Ranked Adventurer..." The Clerk said, "Hm....last time I checked...she's...." 

"I'm an adult!" Lydia exclaimed, "I'm 17!" 

Daemon looked at her for a few moments without saying anything. 

"Silly child." He said, "17 isn't an adult! You gotta be 18 or 19."

"What?!" She exclaimed, "How old are you?!" 

"Me? 24." Daemon said, "Crowley here didn't stop calling me Kid until I was 19, so I'm assuming that's the age people turn into adults." 

"Well, it's the age a snot-nosed brat like you turned into a man." Crowley said

Lydia frowned, "I want to join your party, I know you're in need of one!" She said, "I'm capable! I'm from the Darkmoon Sect!" 

Daemon narrowed his eyes, "A Paladin?" 

"N-No...." She said softly, "But I can fight...." 

"She's not half-bad, Daemon." Crowley said, "She's been here 7 months and is already Silver-Rank." 

"That's not bad." Daemon said, "Took me one month, though..." 

"Not a competition..." Lydia said, "I-" 

"Alright!" Daemon cut her off, 

"You can join my party!"