I have to give the healers at the Adventurer's Guild credit. I'm pretty sure I almost died not three hours ago, and yet, I'm on my feet and considering my next quest. It's nothing short of a miracle. Still, it seems Emerald took the healer's advice, she shouted something about finding the best Healer in town before bolting out the door, though I doubt the best Healer in town would drop everything to babysit a pair of newbies whose only success had landed one of them in the infirmary, regardless of whether one of us is Unique or not. I can't help but notice that the Golem and Merchant quests have already been taken, most likely by much more experienced adventurers than either myself or Emerald.
Still, it's nice to have this much gold in my pocket, even if only half of it belongs to me. I can picture Emerald now, scrambling around town looking for a healer willing to party up with us.
"Excuse me for asking, but would you happen to by Darius Crowley?" I'm brought out of my daydreaming by a girl's voice beside me. Is being a Unique seriously all it took to be popular nowadays?
Yeah, that's me."I say, looking over to the voice's owner, I called her a girl, but this woman would probably be a head taller than me even if I stood up to greet her, so it's actually something of a relief when she sits down across from me.
"My name is Sara Pierce. I work with the local paper, and we have been dying to get an interview with the new Unique in town."She explains, resting her elbows on the table in a way that blatantly emphasized her chest. "But rumour has it you haven't left your room in almost a month."
Of course, people would have noticed the newest local celebrity turning into a hermit. I can't believe I actually have to start worrying about the public's opinion of me now.
"Are you so confident in your abilities that you had to challenge yourself by only starting to take on quests now?" Sara probes.
"Oh, nothing like that," I say, putting on my best fake smile. "I just wanted to study up on magic before heading out. I figured I should probably learn as much magic as I could before heading out on adventures."
"I see, very pragmatic of you, Mr Crowley." Sara smiles back, brushing her auburn hair out of her face as she took out a small notepad and pen.
"Well, I thought so too, but I ended up completely losing track of time." I admit. "I guess it's a good thing I learn magic fast, or I'd already be out of a job."
"Well, I suppose it's natural to want to do everything at once when you're suddenly given incredible power, right?" Sara bats her eyelashes. I'm not some horned-up teenager that's about to spill all my darkest secrets just because a girl's being nice to me, but it's clear she knows exactly how to play people. Man, journalists are scary.
"I wouldn't even say my ability's that incredible. I just got out of the infirmary because a fusion spell I used exploded in my face."
Okay, maybe she's loosened my tongue just a little bit, but I can still win this.
"So, I take it your Ability involves a lot of trial-and-error?" Sara has completely given up on even looking at me now, only offering occasional glances away from her notepad as she furiously scribbles down every last piece of information she can gather from my words and body language.
"Well, I did complete the quest I was working on." I laugh, we both know it's completely fake, but all I can do now is hope she'll write something charitable. "So it's... I dunno if trial-and-error is really the best way of putting it."
"I see." Sara moves to stand up. "Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time, thank you again, Mr-."
I hear the doors to the guild swing open, and realise my fate is now, well and truly, sealed.
"Darius, you're not gonna believe this!" Emerald calls out to me, stomping over. "I asked everyone who looked like a Healer, and none of them, not a single one, wanted to join our party, we're going on a quest right now, and I'm gonna punch any monster I see halfway to the damn moon!" From her single-minded staring at me, she doesn't even seem to register the shocked reporter sat across the table.
"Well, there you have it, Ms Pierce. Duty calls." I say, getting dragged out of my seat by my belligerent companion.
"Wait, who is-" I hear Sara call after me, but Emerald is nothing if not bizarrely strong, and I'm out of earshot before her question can even register.
"I think we need to have a little conversation about interrupting people-" I begin to chastise Emerald, but a single glare puts me in my place.
"I'm in a bad mood, and want to punch things." She tells me, looking back at the job board. "You're going to help me look for things to punch."
"Or what?"
"Or you'll be the thing I punch."
"You didn't actually expect a high-class Healer to join up with two novices, did you?"
"Why shouldn't they? You're a Unique."
"That doesn't change the fact that-"
"Excuse me, Mr Crowley?" Sara's voice comes from behind me. "If you're looking for a healer to join your party, my sister recently joined the guild. I'm sure she'd be happy to lend you a hand."
"Sister?" Emerald finally acknowledges Sara's existence. "Wait, who are you, exactly?"
"Finally noticed, have you?" I drawl. "Emerald, this is Sara, she's a reporter. Sara, this is Emerald, my only party member."
"We have a very selective vetting process," Emerald warns. "If your sister isn't up to my standards, I don't plan on mincing words. Only send her our way if you can handle her soul being destroyed."
"Ignore everything Emerald just said, we'd love to have her join."
"Hey, quit undermining my authority!" Emerald snarls, batting me around the head.
"Then quit saying stupid crap! And don't hit the guy who just got out of the infirmary!" I retort, before turning back to Sara. "What's your sister's name?"
"Uh..." Sara pauses, having clearly developed some reservations about having her sister join up with our ragtag bunch of morons, but gets over them with a sigh. "Her name is Claire." She finally says.
After a lot of very loud convincing, I finally calmed Emerald down, and the two of us headed over to Sara's place to introduce ourselves to Claire. Their house was just on the outskirts of Larit, but it was surprisingly high-end for a reporter and a newbie adventurer. I guess their parents must be rich or something.
"Claire, it's me," Sara says, knocking on the front door. "I've brought some people who want to meet you." Her statement goes unanswered, however, no response from Claire, nor any movement at all from the door. "Hey, I know you're in there." She says, banging her fist against the door a few more times for good measure. "Don't make me bust this door down! I go through the effort of finding you some party members and you just lock yourself in our house?"
Emerald and I exchange a glance, though hers is more of a smug, I-told-you-so sort of look. I don't see what makes you any less irritating, you know.
"-I even made nice with that new Unique in the hopes he'd take you on, but-" You do realize I'm standing less than a meter away, don't you?"-stay in there for all I care!"
"The new Unique?" A head pops out of the window directly above Sara, her gaze scanning the surrounding area before it finally falls on me.
"Hello," I say with a polite wave.
With a sharp intake of air that was less a gasp and more an inward scream, Claire dives back into the house. Sara pinches the bridge of her nose at the sound of her coming down the stairs and colliding with the front door with such force I'm honestly kind of surprised she didn't crash straight through it.
Does the word Unique seriously carry this much weight? Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I'd genuinely be better off without this sort of attention.
"H-Hello!" Claire shouts as soon as she manages to open the door. "M-M-My name is Claire Pierce, and I'm a Cleric!"
"Darius Crowley," I say. "Mage, this is Emerald, she's a Brawler."
Introducing yourself with your name and class is common etiquette for adventurers. Emerald may be willing to ignore that, but I at least want to come across as polite, especially considering the exaggerated idea of a Unique that most people seem to have. "It's nice to meet you, Claire."
"N-N-N-Nice to meet you, too!" Claire responds, her volume control still leaving a lot to be desired. "Uh, um..." She trails off, her focus flitting between me, Emerald, and Sara.
"Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden, Claire, but we'd really appreciate you joining our party," I explain. "My Unique skill is kind of volatile, so we really need a healer."
"O-Of course!" Claire shouts. "I'd be happy to join!"
"Okay, good." Emerald nods. "I've already got a tester quest prepared to see if you're worth our time."
"What!?" Sara, Claire and I all yell in perfect unison. If nothing else, we've got comedic timing down pat.
"Alright, we're here," Emerald says after prompting the two of us to take cover behind some boxes. "Try to stay quiet."
"What exactly are we doing here, Em?" I ask.
"See those guys?" She points towards two guards stood at the entrance to a large storage building. "They're bandits. A friend of mine tipped me off that there was gonna be a raid tonight."
"They just look like ordinary guards to me," Claire notes.
"That's because they're in disguise. Duh." Emerald scoffs.
"If we end up fighting with the city's guards because you got bad information, I'm throwing you under the cart without hesitation," I warn her.
"Hey, I trust my source." Emerald boasts. "She's never led me wrong so far."
I pause to think a moment. I've barely known Emerald for two days, can I really put my faith in somebody I've never met just because she says to trust them? But on the other hand, can I really just walk away from a possible bandit raid so close to the city?
Neither option is particularly appealing, and this isn't even an official quest, so I have my doubts it'll affect my quota either way.
"I'm out," I say, standing up to leave.
"Wha-" Emerald grabs at my robes, pulling me back to the floor. "What do you mean, you're out?"
"I have zero interest in doing anything more than necessary," I tell her. "Unique or not, my goal has always been to get the most perks for the least amount of effort."
"You..." Emerald's face turns from confusion to anger. "You're the worst!"
"Uh, Miss Emerald..." Claire begins. "Didn't you say we should keep quiet?"
"Can you believe this guy, Claire?" Emerald seemingly has no intentions to pay any mind to Claire's, or rather, her own, advice, and keeps on yelling indignantly. "People are in danger, and he's just gonna walk away?"
"I will when you let go of my robes, at least."
"You stay quiet!" Emerald flips my hood over my head, blocking my vision.
"How is that supposed to keep me quiet?" I say, though my voice does come out slightly muffled by the fabric. Whatever works, I guess. And it seems that any animosity Emerald may have felt towards Claire has now been moved to me, so if everything goes south, I'll tell them that was my intention all along. A genius move, if I do say so myself.
"They're loading stuff into a cart," Claire says, apparently taking my place as the scout.
"See, I told you they were bandits." Emerald boasts.
"The guards might be sending provisions to another town," I say, earning me a punch in the shoulder from Emerald. "Hey, no punching the squishy mage."
"I'm heading out, keep me safe, Claire," Emerald says, and I hear hurried footsteps getting further and further away.
"W-Wait, Emerald!" Claire calls, rushing to chase her, and stepping on me in the process. "S-Sorry, Darius!" Her voice is faint, and it seems I'm finally free to leave. I lower my hood and stand up, stretching my spine as I prepare to make a hasty getaway before any green-haired annoyances try to stop me.
"Hey, you there!" I hear a man's voice call after me. "Are you with these two?" I turn to see that both Emerald and Claire have been apprehended, though judging from the half dozen people knocked out cold, she'd clearly made a dent in their forces beforehand. Good for her, I suppose.
"May I answer your with another question?" I ask, trying my hardest not to lose my composure. "Where are these provisions being sent?"
"Huh?" The apparent leader, a muscular man with a shock of black hair covering the right side of his face, scoffs. "Why the hell should I tell you?"
"Is that how you speak to a superior officer?" I bluff, hoping these guys really are a group of bandits and I'm not five minutes away from being sent down for impersonating a guard. "I asked you a question, soldier."
"H-Huh?" The black-haired man gasps, looking at his subordinates, "I dunno who you think you are, but you ain't gonna fool me."
Realising he's about halfway to buying my story, I stand up a little straighter and clasp my hands behind my back. This is probably how a guard captain stands, right? "Are you disrespecting me, boy? I could have you locked away for so long your own mother will forget what you look like."
"I ain't done nothin'!" The leader rebukes.
"Your men are currently holding two innocent women, who happen to be fellow guards, hostage," I warn him. "I assume you have a good explanation for that?"
"The green-haired one charged us and started swinging. We was actin' in self-defence." Back on the offensive, the leader takes a step forwards. "And what was a captain o' the guard doing skulking behind some conveniently placed boxes, eh?"
"Investigating," I tell him. "I am currently in charge of rooting out a group of cutpurses impersonating us guards. Having not heard of any supplies being moved, you can understand why I was keeping an eye on you, of course?" I can't help but notice a few of the lackeys nervously side-eyeing each other, and I know I've got them beat. "Of course, clearly this is a misunderstanding, and my companions simply got a little too presumptuous. I will be sure to discipline them for their rash actions."
"Actually, I was thinkin' maybe we could be the ones to discipline them." The leader says, a fierce look in his eyes, like a wild animal catching a hint of blood in the air. "If you're their friend, you might go easy on 'em, and they'll never learn their lesson like that."
"I'm afraid that was the last thing you should have said." I sigh, before taking up a casting stance. "O frigid winds, the harsh mistress of the air, cleanse all in your wake with the scorn of winter! Frozen Torrent!"
At the end of my chant, the air turns gelid, freezing the moisture carried on the wind into hail. The (people whom I sincerely hope are) bandits scatter as the hailstones pick a target and hurl themselves against the nearest person, the leader taking a ball of ice to the face with enough force to knock him on his back, only for more and more of them to pelt his body.
"Nice one, Darius!" Emerald shouts, running towards me as she protects herself and Claire from the onslaught with her arms, making me realise I should have probably specified exactly who the bad guys were. "I knew you'd come through in the end."
"You forced my hand," I explain. "It's not like I was gonna let you guys get hauled off by those morons.
"Aw, you care about us?" Emerald jabs and I have to get one in of my own for the sake of my pride.
"Huh? What are you talking about? It'd just be a pain to have to find new party members." I give an exaggerated shrug as I turn away to emphasise the fact I'm obviously joking.
"You..." Emerald's jaw falls slack at my comment. "You jerk!" And then my body goes slack at her full-force punch to the back of my head.
I feel myself wake up after who knows how long, with a warmth spreading through my body.
"Well, he shouldn't make jokes like that in the first place." I hear Emerald complaining. It seems Claire at least picked up on my sarcasm. "Seriously, just when I was starting to warm up to the guy."
"I'd like to end a single quest conscious, please," I say, opening my eyes to see a starry sky above me.
"It was your own fault," Emerald says, and I can practically hear her sulking.
"I mean... we did finish the quest," Claire says. "And I was useful! Does that mean I can join you guys?"
"Why would you want to?" I ask, genuinely curious as to what it was she was seeking penance for enough to drive her to us.
"N-Nobody else will take me on." She admits. "I... I sort of panic and forget to actually heal anyone until the battle's over."
"Uh..." Emerald looks at me.
"B-But I'm sure I can get over that!" Claire shouts. "I-I just need practice, that's all!"
"Well, we do need a healer," I say. "And nobody else is willing to join us thanks to a certain somebody." I glance over at Emerald, who genuinely seems to have no idea who I'm referring to. "So, welcome aboard, Claire." I pat her on the shoulder and turn to Emerald. "Anyway, we'd better go get our reward."
"Our what?" Emerald deadpans.
"Our reward, y'know, for clearing the quest," I tell her.
"I dunno what you're talking about." Emerald shrugs. "I told you, this was a tip-off from a friend of mine."
"So, this wasn't an official quest?" I ask, despite knowing exactly what the answer would be.
"Of course not, only me and my source even knew this was gonna happen, why would the guild... hey, why are you standing like that?"
"O frigid winds, the harsh mistress of the air-"
"Okay, very funny, c'mon let's head back."
"-cleanse all in your wake with the scorn of winter! Frozen Torrent!"