"A-Ah, that part's tender." I muttered. "Please don't grab it so hard."
"Sorry, Kenji-san." Erana grunted. "I'm not used to helping people walk."
We had left the cave and were heading out of the forest. Kany had woken up to find the hobgoblin dead. I found that I could barely stand, so I had to depend on Erana to help me walk. Tael is carrying Kany on his back. Thanks to Erana being a druid, navigating our way out of the forest is easy.
By the time we emerged from the trees, the sun was out and the drawbridge had been lowered. It looked like it was in the early morning.
I slowly pushed off of Erana. "I think I can walk on my own now."
"Alright, but... Don't be afraid to ask for help."" She held a concerned look on her face as she let me go.
"Yeah man, it's the least we can do! Haha!" Tael looked up towards the sky as his laugh bellowed out.
"Don't overdo it, Onii-san." Kany murmured as she rested against Tael's back.
Despite the pain that comes from laughing, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
We approached the drawbridge. Guards watched over us as we stepped back into the safety of Ruks.
"So... It seems our first adventure is over." Tael muttered. It seems like he's a bit disappointed.
I stood still and thought for a moment about what Tael had just said.
"Are you alright, Onii-san?" Kany slowly pushed up against Tael as she raised her head. "Didn't I tell you not to overdo it just now?"
"Here, let me help you, Kenji-san." Erana walked over to me once more.
I held out my hand to stop Erana from assisting me.
"We make a pretty good team… Our party composition is fairly balanced." I stepped in front of the three of them. "How about it, do you guys want to form a party together?"
The look of elation on Tael's face said it all for me.
Kany closed her eyes and chuckled. "Heh. Fine with me, Onii-san. As long as you take all the hits from now on, I don't mind!"
Erana grinned from ear to ear as she clapped her hands together. "I'd be happy to continue to work with you two!"
"Alright! This is awesome! We're gonna be a party together!" Tael shouted to the sky.
Watching this scene, I couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny, Kenji?" Tael smiled.
"Heh…" I turned away from them as I struggled to contain my grin. "Well, I just was thinking that this is the most unique birthday I've ever had!"
Time passed as we healed. I had to fork over an additional fourty juns so that the town clerics would mend our wounds, but I was paid back, so it wasn't a big problem.
A few days passed.
I sat down at our table in the guild hall. It has been three days since the goblin incident. We had received our compensation from the monster slaying and discovered that destroying the goblin nest had been a quest on the notice board. As a result, we had made a total of two thousand four hundred juns to be split between us. Since we've received our payment we've decided to all come together and celebrate.
"So… what do we do now, Kenji?" Tael leaned forward on the table as he asked.
"Why are you asking me?" I leaned back.
"Well Onii-san, judging by the looks of it, this guy can't make a good decision to save his life." Kany motioned to Tael and chuckled.
"Hey! I take offense to that!" Tael stood up as he stared down Kany.
"I trust your judgement, Kenji-san. What do you think we should do?" Erana's calm smile relaxed us all.
I stood up and walked towards the bulletin board. Several sheets of paper littered the wall, each of which detailed different quests. Each notice had a difficulty rating on it so choosing was a bit easier.
"Ah, excuse me Kenji-san. I need to post this to the board." Yimmie muttered while nudging me aside.
"What's that quest?" I looked over her shoulder.
"A nearby farming village has had a string of disappearances. They're hiring adventurers to find the problem." She didn't look towards me as she explained, merely tacking on jobs onto the board.
A mystery, huh? This sounds like a job for me. "Can I take that quest?"
Yimmie turned towards me and shrugged. "Sure. It's open, so anyone can take it. Just don't be surprised if other people take the job too."
"What is this village called?"
"Mulbik. I've been there before. I wish I could go on a date there…" Her wings drooped as she sighed.
I turned back towards the table and opened up my status screen.
Next to my level zero status, I could see a four in parentheses.
"What does this mean?" I pointed towards it.
Kany leaned over and read my screen. "Oh, it means that you can level up four times Onii-san. That's impressive! I only leveled up twice from that endeavor!"
"You leveled up four times Kenji? I only leveled up twice!" Tael slammed his hands on the table.
"I only leveled up once…" Erana murmured.
Our group chuckled as I went over to the level screen. I pondered for a moment before I decided to start distributing classes.
"Three levels in warrior and... One level in wizard." I spoke aloud.
"Multi-classing, huh? That's neat." Tael rested his head on his hand as he watched me level up.
My screen had changed. My new status screen read out new information.
Strength: 34
Dexterity: 25
Constitution: 30
Mana: 50
Magic Power: 10
Luck: 10
Experience: 400
"That's not all!" I stood up and slammed the paper down. "We're going to be heading to a town called Mulbik!"
"Alright! Let's do this!" Tael hopped up and punched the air.