Someone bumped into me and I fell down on the ground. He apologizes immediately and he reach his hand to help me. As he was pulling me up I suddenly paused in the middle and I jolted out. The man who bumped into me, is no other than Lucas. We both stare at each other. What is he doing here? It's been a long time since we met. It is way back before I was even banished.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"What are you, doing here?" He asked then suddenly he smiles. Is he trying to mock me?
I looked at him as I am dissatisfied to his answer. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and we move outside. The heat earlier this morning turns into a sudden coldness. It was cold and I can finally be at ease. But what makes me even more excited was meeting an old target.
"Why are you not in Norvin? What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.
"I left Norvin and I am an adventurer?" I answered.
Lucas looked at me with doubt in his face.
"I thought you are a soldier of Norvin. How can you just quit being one?" He asked.
"I was, until shit happened." I answered. He smiled again and giggled. Its been a whole year and a half since I met Lucas and he is still annoying as before.
"You are still the same as before. I was shock seeing you here. I was in Norvin two months ago and I was hoping that I can meet you again. But when I ask people around about you, they say that they don't know you. It was suspicious." He claimed.
"Three weeks after you left, I was punished for doing something and because of that, I am now banned to enter the North for ten years. I hate it but what can I do." I explained.
"OH, I see, no wonder the soldiers don't know you. I bet you killed an innocent bystander. I was just kidding. But…" He stopped and he look at me from head to toe. "… look at you now. You decided to become an adventurer?" He asked.
"What do you think?" I said.
He burst in laughter and stared at me. "You haven't change at all. Didn't you learn anything from my notes?"
"Do you think I would be here if your notes are helpful? I've been reading it that it jungles my thoughts. Your words are contradicting with each other, thanks to that I was kicked out." I lied. Well, I still don't want to admit that his notes are really helpful.
"Sorry, instead of helping it actually caused you harm. But isn't it being an adventurer is way more fun than being a soldier? I mean you could visit anywhere with no rules bounding you." He said it carefree.
He is actually right. Being an adventurer makes you feel as a normal human being. I was born in a very well establish family and have never experience hardship in life. But now that I am an adventurer, I am starting to see the perspective of different lives. I learned how to manage my money and the used it diligently. I don't really like spending money in the first place since I think I don't need it. But after living as a normal person, I finally understand to use it. The truth is, being an adventurer makes me feel alive. I don't have to deal any schemes that those nobles are plotting and I don't have to worry the laws of that society. This kind of environment suits me well more than being a soldier or a noble.
I looked at Lucas and I realize that his personality haven't change. He offered me that he is going to treat me for some food. As we are going to sit on the other of table, I remembered Cayden. I told Lucas that I am with someone. He suddenly jolted and started to mock me. If I didn't know this person, I will eventually kill him this instance. I think he deserve to die.
Lucas and Cayden greeted one another and they introduce themselves with each other. Suddenly, the food that we ordered arrived.
"Oh, it seems that I wouldn't be treating you for meal. Well, I will next time." He said after seeing the food being place on our table. "So�� your name is Cayden? Nice to meet you. I was pretty shock hearing that Silvy actually travelling with someone." Lucas said.
"I was forced to come here." Cayden answered. Lucas suddenly pauses and burst into laughter.
"Don't tell me you are into kidnapping now, Silvy?" Lucas stared at me like I am some sort of criminal.
"I am not!" I reacted.
"She didn't kidnap me, but I didn't have a choice in the first place. It is best to not know further details about it." Cayden clarified. He is still moody. I bet he couldn't still accept the news about what really happened.
"Looks like mister straight forward is in a bad mood." Lucas sighed. "So, what are you guys doing here? This kingdom is actually far from Norvin?"
"We escorted a noble brat here and we had a little bit of misunderstanding that's why we are force to stay at least one night here. I feel being rob being here since we already spent three gold coins for staying." I complained.
"I can feel yeah." Lucas sighed. "This kingdom is actually very rich in gold and that is why their worth of living here is extremely high. However, they still lack of man power due to the climate condition of this place. During the day, the heat is unbearable that even crops are struggling to grow. While during the night, it gets cold. That's why adventurers choose to come here during the night. Mostly of the job requests are to transport foods from other nearby kingdoms. It sounds easy but it is difficult to be done. There are bandits along the way and hungry people who are willing to engage to battle just to acquire food. Water is also a problem. That's why this kingdom hires water base mages just to support the water system. The land mass here is also useless since the ground doesn't hold heavy infrastructures." Lucas explained.
"You are unbelievable, for a person like you to acquire such knowledge is extremely…" I said but then Lucas cut my words.
"Amazing?" He put some air to himself.
"No… suspicious." I continued.
Lucas created a disappointed face. We started to have our meal and I didn't share my food with him. Cayden also didn't share his food to him and that makes him more dissatisfied. He orders some quick meal for himself and he went to tear a job request on the board. Can he do that? I mean he wasn't part of this kingdom, isn't it?
While we are having our dinner, people are gathering around him and congratulating him from his previous mission. What did he do to be acknowledged by his fellow adventurer?
"What is that all about?" I asked.
"My team, as well as other teams, subjugated a catastrophic-class monster that destroyed five towns that are near to its dungeon epicenter. It was actually terrifying that half of the teams who team up to defeat that monster, died in the battle. Although, each specific team has at least two S-ranks adventurers, it is too powerful to defeat that monster. Three of my team members died one is critical. It is impossible for him to live his life normally after that incident. That's why I gave all of my share to him."
"How much is the reward to subjugate such monster?"
"The reward is fifty platinum and the highest survival team rate will have the crystallite necklace."
Hearing such reward can at least buy a huge land that can compared to what a baron has. Platinum is extremely rare and if you are going to convert it, one platinum worth of one hundred gold coins. If you are going to add the worth of the crystallite, it is five platinum of worth. But I guess it is indeed dangerous to subjugate monster if the worth is summing up to a great fortune.
"Among the twenty teams who work together to defeat that monster, half of us was completely perished. In my team, there are only two of us who survived. We split the reward where we can get five platinum each but I decided to give everything to him. I pity him. I am still complete and I can earn those platinum in no time but my teammate lost his both feet." He said while I can see those regrets on his face.
After being quiet for at least five minutes, Lucas regained his liveliness. Hearing such incident is somehow firing me up to look also for a catastrophic-class monster. I have never seen one therefore I want to meet one.
Lucas suddenly changed the topic and asked our ranks.
"Both Cayden and I are currently in C-class." I answered.
"Somehow, I can feel that neither of you are actually C-class. I know what are C-class people are but the last time you tried to kill me indicates that you are not just a C-class." Lucas said.
I looked at him and I suddenly remembered those days when I tried to assassinate him countless times. I failed to kill him because I wasn't using my full ability back then. But for him to dodge my attacks, indicates that he is somehow around S-rank.
"Well, when we applied to become adventurers, they told us that we can par with the S-rank but since we haven't contributed yet that's why they put us in C-class." I explained.
"I knew it. So, it means that both of you are hiding in disguise." Lucas said but he didn't realize that both of us were startled. I don't know what he means of that word disguise. Did he find out that we are currently in disguise? What does he mean?
"We are not in disguise?" Cayden said.
Lucas looked at him and suddenly choked from his food. He suddenly grabbed the tankard and gulp a huge amount of beer with his food. After swallowing it, he burst into laughter that his voice echoed in the whole tavern. Why is he laughing? Is there something to laugh at?