As Meridith and I walked along the lively streets of Hullberg, I saw the living conditions of regular people. Hullberg isn't somewhere I would like to live, but it wasn't too bad. All buildings were either a house, a shop, or an inn. The houses were two to three stories, and held up to three families in them, one on each floor. The city was fairly busy with multiple people walking along the streets.
Almost everyone in the town was going in one direction, deeper into the city. Meredith and I followed them toward what looked to be the biggest building in town.
"Hey Meri, what do ya think of the town?" I asked as I jumped from her left shoulder to her right.
"It's pretty disgusting. There are so many people here it's like an infestation. You have multiple families in one house and only one bathing house for a district. It's like a wasp's nest."
"Yeah, I guess you are right. Where I'm from it's a lot better than this."
"Hmm, where are you from Magnus? You are only ten years old and a dragon. You are also uninheriting, so you should not have inherited any knowledge from your parents. This is completely new to you, or is it?" Meridith picked me up from her shoulder and held me on her palms to look me in the eyes.
"Yeah umm, can we talk about this later? We are almost ther-"
'Kill'
"What?" I heard something whisper in my ears.
'Your energy is depleted... three hours… kill now,' the voice kept repeating in my head.
"What's wrong Magnus?" Meredith said as she saw me squirming around on her hands.
"Ahh god dammit. Jeez, nothing is wrong. I just had a bad headache," I replied, lying through my teeth.
"Well okay then. We're here by the way."
I turned around and saw a big building which adorned a sign that read "Town Hall". We walked into the building and came to a crowded room. There was a man on a stage to the front of the room and everyone was looking at him. The man walked up to a dais and started to speak.
"Greetings my fellow Hullish people! It is such a nice day. This week has been spectacular. This week has been rather peaceful but, there is something of importance. First of all, the Adventurers Guild in Hullberg has been growing at an increased rate, and we are going to build a new building. called "Hulls Inn". Anyone unemployed may come and help with the construction at any time. You must turn in your traveling visa when you start working and pick it up at departure. We will also be welcoming small inn owners to work together to form the new staff of Hull's Inn. On another note, just yesterday there was a chaotic fight in Erispire. We saw signs of four different dragons and powerful mage. We are recruiting a team of adventurers for a Demon level mission. We need at least three Rank Soldiers and two Rank Beasts for a scouting mission and see what happened."
"Hey Meri, what are these rank name things?" I asked from atop her head while lying down like a spoiled dog.
"The Adventurers Guild accepts anyone and everyone that is good for the community. The guild also acts as a medium for job requests. The ranks go from Civilian to World, with Demon Rank, Hero Rank, God Rank, and World Rank being the highest. There are only two God-class adventurers and I am of the Hero-class. Most dragons are considered Hero-class and the strongest dragons are God-class."
After Meridith whispered, someone else came on stage and began to speak. He was a burly man and wore heavy silver plated armor with a double-handed longsword on his back.
"Hello Hullberg. As most of you know I am Brian Gateson, a Beast-class adventurer, and I will be attending the scouting mission. I am looking forward to meeting the rest of the squad and will put my life on the line to protect this city! If you are strong enough, come to the adventures guild after this meeting and get signed up for the mission, thank you."
After Brian finished speaking, people started to exit the building, and soon we were also out.
"Let's go join the mission. You said you were a Hero Rank right? I bet you they will love us!"
"Yeah about that Scourge. I don't think we should go. It's too troublesome and you wanted to see the city."
"Oh come on Meri. I already saw the city. It's not that interesting besides the lava lake. This trip sounds like fun."
"Ok Maggy, but just to let you know beforehand. I'm a Hero Rank monster, not a Hero rank adventurer."
"What does that mean?" I asked in confusion.
"It means I am a Hero rank threat to the kingdom, not a Hero rank adventurer. I have a three hundred gold bounty on me."
"Wait, what? Then how were you able to get into the city, and why isn't anyone trying to kill you?"
"Because no one can fight me. There are no Hero ranks here and the God ranks are both occupied. After the war, where I killed thousands of soldiers and became a Hero level threat. I went to the queen and demanded freedom to be wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. So she caved in and gave me a queen's pass, the visa I used to get into the city."
"Woah, you are one weird lady," I said and shook my head.
"Says you?! You're a Demon level threat!"
"Sheesh, no need to be so rude about it," I replied and gave her the cold shoulder.
The Adventures Guild building stood before us and we walked through the double doors.
Everyone in the small bar of an entrance turned and stared at us in silence. Meredith walked up to the bar and sat down on a stool next to Brian.
"Hey, you got another beast rank, or are you still looking for one?"
Brian turned to see Meridith and realized that all eyes were on us.
"No, it's just me and two other soldiers class parties. How can I help you miss?" Brian didn't recognize Meridith or her strength.
"Please, the name's Meridith," Meridith said with a smile.
"Ahh, Meridith, I've heard a lot about you. How come you trouble yourself with this wee little town?" Brian asked, not too keen on hiding his confusion.
"I'm just here to lend a hand on the scouting mission."
"Hmm, we do need all the help we can get, so I guess you're in. Just get verified as an adventurer and we'll get going."