Adventurers Guild

Great Manta Kingdom – Lorne Village.

It was in the middle of afternoon, and the rays from the sun were relentless. This was a time of the day when most villagers would be busy with their own jobs.

However, that was not the case today.

Contrary to any other day, most villagers had put down whatever they had on hand and were gathered at the training ground.

While it was called a training ground, all it comprised was a large clearing separated into two by a wooden fence.

In one part, wooden targets were put up at varying distances from the entrance, meant for the villagers to practise their archery and throwing skills.

In another, large wooden logs of varying sizes littered the ground, meant for the villagers to use as weights for strength training.

The ground was bare of grass, evident of the high human traffic which had trampled the grass into oblivion. There would usually be young men training vigorously at both areas every day, but everyone was only crowded around the first area today, and the second was completely void of people.

If someone who was familiar with the villagers were to look among the crowds, they would realise that there were a few unfamiliar faces mixed within.

These people were well dressed, not in terms of elegance, but in terms of practicality. In that manner, it might be better termed as well equipped. However, it was a fact that their dressing definitely still looked more pleasant compared to the villagers' crude attires as well.

And at this time, these strangers were positioned among those at the front of the crowd, attentively watching the two main characters of the day from up close, as the two figures readied the throwing daggers in their hands.

One of the two figures was similarly well dressed, though the shine on his leather boots were faded by treading the dirt ground.

The other of the two figures was just a young girl, covered in comfortable village clothes except for a pouch that hung by her left thigh.

May took a quick glance at the throwing dagger in her hand, then up at the wooden target standing a distance away.

While they say it was a wooden target, it was essentially just a wooden log that was planted vertically into the ground.

She slowly brought the throwing dagger up and over her shoulder, her gaze never leaving the wooden target in front.

Then with one swift action, the throwing dagger left her fingers and raced through the air towards the wooden target.

Thud-!

Cheers sounded out from the villagers as the dagger firmly embedded itself onto the wooden target, joining the twelve others beside it.

May smiled in satisfaction upon seeing the dagger land, happily turning to look at the man standing beside her, who smiled in response and gave her a thumbs-up.

One of those few people who were foreign to the village stepped forward upon seeing this, gave May a gentle smile, before turning around to address everyone present.

"It seems that we have truly underestimated the skills of this young lady here. As per the bet, we will delay our return so as to escort your next trip to Rainfall City."

The one who just spoke was the leader of the group who had arrived at Lorne Village a week ago, a man named Renton.

They were adventurers, commonly known as neutral mercenaries who were paid for various types of specialised jobs ranging from slaying a dangerous beast to information gathering.

These jobs would be posted up by the Adventurers Guild, which had satellite branches in most cities, and adventurers who wanted to take up the job would register with the guild before starting on the job.

This group of adventurers had come to Lorne Village on such a job as well.

There had been multiple instances when beasts that usually lurked in the depths of the forest had been encountered near the peripherals, endangering the villagers who lived near the forest.

For that reason, the villagers have pooled their money together and put up a request at the Adventurers Guild at the nearby Rainfall City, requesting for the investigation of the situation.

After months without any updates, the job was finally accepted by Renton and his party.

Renton was a man in his thirties, with tanned skin and a lean body, and a sword always rested in the scabbard that hung by his waist.

He was the strongest fighter among the group of 5, but that was not the sole reason why he was made the leader.

In addition to his combat skills, Renton also had a very intelligent mind, and was able to assess situations with a respectably high degree of accuracy. Since they were in a job in which a single mistake could result in death, such a quality was extremely well received by the group.

What was happening at the training ground right now was due to a simple bet between one of his party mates and May.

His party mate, a man named Shimalt, had been bragging to the village kids about his fantastic knife throwing abilities in his free time. But that was when May stepped up and claimed that she might be able to do the same.

Shimalt initially thought it was just a child's delusional statements, but was surprised that the other village kids agreed with May. This actually triggered his pride both as an adult and as a truly skilled individual.

Wanting to teach these kids a lesson, he set up an official bet with May, not thinking much about it.

When he realised that half the village actually stopped their work just to come and spectate their little competition, he thought that they were just fascinated by an event that was a break from their usual routine.

Who knew that this little girl would actually be so fierce?

Shimalt did not miss any of the twelve daggers he threw out before, but neither did May.

When May threw that last dagger out to strike the target, Shimalt turned to his leader and shook his head helplessly.

Just like Shimalt, Renton had already realised that this competition was not going to end until someone ran out of stamina. Since it was nothing serious, he decided to just end it right here.

After all, they only took on this job because they wanted to take a break from their regular dangerous jobs. They had to head for Rainfall City after this job as well in any case, so what difference did it make to stay a little longer just to accompany the villagers on their trip to Rainfall City?

May could roughly guess the reason for the adventurers to admit their loss, but it was also true that considering the difference in their age, she was rightfully the better one.

However, she did not bother clarifying that point. Since there was nothing exceptional on the line, it was all just for fun anyway.

May playfully stuck out her tongue at Shimalt, who ruffled her hair with a laugh.

"How did you get this good at such a young age?" Shimalt was truly curious.

"I am part of the village's hunting team after all!" May hurriedly shook off Shimalt's hand from her head before trying to tidy up her hair with her own hands.

"Really? Isn't that a little too dangerous for someone your age?"

"The others will protect me with their bodies, but I will protect them with my daggers! So it's not too dangerous."

"It still is, especially considering the strange activity of the beasts around here," Shimalt said as he thought back to the reason why they came.

The beasts that lurked within the depths of the forest were monstrous compared to those that lived in the perimeters of the forest. If a relatively strong one appeared, even they as adventurers might have a hard time dealing with it.

These villagers were taking this matter way too lightly.

That was what came to Shimalt's mind as he walked back to Renton with May following right behind.

Renton was casually chatting with the village head at the moment, briefly going through what the group was planning to do over the next few days. But as someone who had to frequently place his life on the line when out on jobs, he was definitely alert enough to notice Shimalt approach.

"She really got you good, didn't she?" Renton turned to Shimalt and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I really didn't expect her to be so skilled," Shimalt took a glance at May before turning to the village head. "I heard from her that she is a part of the hunting team?"

"Yes, she is indeed," the village head nodded. "We took her on a hunting trip once, and that's when we realised how skilled she is with knife throwing. From then on, she has been a regular member of the hunting team. That said, I apologise once again on her behalf for her wilfulness in making this bet."

"Oh?" Renton was surprised at that answer. "The bet aside, isn't it too dangerous to bring such a young girl out for hunting?

"I'm fine! They protect me well!" May retorted as she walked to the village head's side and took his hand.

"Hahaha, there you see. She insists on going every time. No one can stop her!" the village head laughed.

Renton and Shimalt shot each other a helpless glance and shrugged. They tried to warn them, but if the villagers did not wish to listen, they would not go out of the way to stop them either.

They had met many different people in their line of work, and different groups of people had varying perspectives in terms of tempering their young. All they could do was respect the local culture.

The crowd dispersed quickly after the competition ended, and everyone went back to deal with their businesses. But May was an exception.

When the adventurers first arrived at the village, the village kids had always gathered around them out of curiosity, but that interest had died down after a week.

However, May knew that this was a rare chance to gather information about matters outside of the village, and did not want to let go of it if she could.

"Can I could go along with you?" May pleaded with Renton with the cutest expression she could muster.

"No," Renton flatly rejected.

"Ehhhhhh why? I will be good and listen to you well! I am swift on my feet so I won't be a burden!" May continued to try.

It was not the first time she was rejected by Renton, but she still kept trying to convince the adventurer.

"Why not take her along? I don't think there will be any danger here that we can't handle after all."

It was one of the other adventurers who nonchalantly commented from the side.

"Shut up, Francis. Are you going to take responsibility if she gets hurt?" Renton snapped at him, who simply laughed in response.

"I will take responsibility for my own life!" May continued to try, but she could not sway the firm decision of the adventurer.

The group eventually left the village on their own, ignoring May's repeated pleas to follow. Each of them donned a leather cloak over their own clothes, meant for blocking out the harsh conditions of staying in the forest without shelter for days.

May tried to secretly follow behind them initially, but was promptly found out by Shimalt's awareness of his surroundings and immediately brought back to the village head, resulting in a full hour of scolding.

Guess I really just have to wait for them to return before asking them about the trip…

May sulked as she returned to her father.

Heeding the advice of the adventurers, the village no longer sent out hunting teams for the time being, so it suffered food wise in terms of meat quantity.

Two weeks passed by in a flash, and just as everyone was starting to feel impatient, the adventurers returned.

However, the adventurers were simply unable to find something which they could confidently declare as the root of the problem.

They did encounter deep forest beasts even at the perimeters for the forest, but even after delving deep into the forest, they were unable to determine and solve the reason why the deep forest beasts would leave their usual territories.

They did see multiple marks of battle though, so it was suggestive of the hypothesis that there might have been territorial battles among the beasts, which led to some being exiled from their homes.

It was something that they could do nothing about unless they were to go on and slaughter all the strong beasts within the forest.

The villagers were disappointed at the lack of solution, but if there was one thing the villagers were thankful about, it was that the adventurers brought back for them some beasts that they hunted on the way back.

"Aren't you glad you didn't come along? It was so boring!" Shimalt laughed as he addressed the young girl in front of him.

"I'm sure it was not as boring as you say!" May retorted unhappily.

"But it is!" Renton added from the side. "There was totally nothing to be done. We simply walked in, looked at the tracks, and then left."

"As if I would believe you!"

Laughter filled the air as the adventurers could no longer find any words to appease the girl.

"Sorry about that child, Renton," one of the village elders walked over to interrupt their conversation. "She might be a little spoilt, but she is an excellent child."

"Don't worry about it, elder. We understand," Renton retuned a professional smile as May stuck her tongue out at the village elder from beside him.

"That would be best. In any case, we are ready to leave for Rainfall City at any time. Thank you for your kind offer to escort us this time. The woods are truly getting more dangerous lately."

"I'm going too!" May immediately raised her hand up high as she jumped up and down excitedly.

"Why would you want to go?" the elder frowned a little upon seeing this. "Have you even asked Tom about this?"

"Dad will surely be okay with it!" May nodded immediately.

"You'd better go ask him first!" the elder chided, ignoring her repeated nods.

"Okay, I will go ask!" May sped off right after.

"I'm sorry about that," the elder smiled apologetically to Renton.

"Don't worry about it; she's just a kid after all."

After a good rest that night, the adventurers readied their equipment early in the morning and got on their horses. They were accompanied by a small group of villagers who were headed for the same destination.

It was a regular thing for the villagers to visit the nearby Rainfall City, which was a week's journey away. But with the current situation, the first few days of the journey had become a little more dangerous since they would traverse through the outskirts of the forest.

Thus they were grateful when the adventurers had offered to accompany them on this journey. With the adventurers around, they would only have to worry about the return trip.

These villagers had horses of their own as well, but they did not ride the horses. Instead, the horses were used to carry wares that the villagers intended to sell at the city.

This slowed down their progress; otherwise they would be able to reach the city within a few days.

May, however, had the privilege of being seated on a horse, only that she was riding with Shimalt instead of the villagers.

Just as May had expected, Tom readily gave his approval for her to leave for the city. This was owed to the myriad of skills she had displayed in the past, as well as the guarantee of safety due to the adventurers' presence.

The adventurers would not be accompanying them back to the village when they returned from the city, but May was smart enough to leave out that part when convincing her foster father.

The journey was rather uneventful, and the adventurers had no need to draw their blades. The villagers had been travelling to the city for decades now, and knew of the safest route. Getting the adventurers as escort was but an additional guarantee.

After a week of travelling, the group finally caught sight of the city in the distance.

So this is a city of this world…

May marvelled from afar, trying her best to calm the excitement in her heart as they a