"Lilliana, Stella. The guild master is ready to receive you."
"Thanks, Alice."
"No worries. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me."
The two teenage girls were currently waiting seated in a small hall of the guild building, located on the third floor.
Unlike the rest of the building, the interior walls of this floor were made of dark wood, so dark that it hardly reflected the light.
This made the room darker than necessary. In this way, it seemed to be frozen. It was very difficult to see the passage of time.
This room was connected to two long corridors. The first one gave on to the stairs leading down to the second floor. This is where Alice slipped away.
The second staircase led to the guild master's office. This staircase was much narrower and seemed strangely longer.
Paintings adorned the walls of the room. They all represented without exception a landscape of nature, mainly forests, but also an ocean, mountains...
Finally, a table surrounded by chairs stood in the middle of the room. On it was only three large candles whose flames were dancing in the gloom.
Soon after Alice left, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs leading to the upper floor.
After a few seconds, a young woman who radiated with her athletic build and rare red hair appeared.
Dressed in a simple white dress, she was like a ray of sunshine in the night.
When she arrived in front of the girls, she put her hand in her hair, passing it behind her ear. Then, with her soft voice, she broke the silence in the room.
"Hello, Stella, Lilliana. My name is Delphes Gryss, you may call me Delphes. I am Mister Kremn's assistant. The guild master is waiting for you in his office, please follow me."
Lilliana got up slowly and followed Delphes who was already going up the stairs. Stella didn't waste a second and went after her friend.
At the top of the stairs, a small carved wooden door awaited them. Delphes knocked three times on the door, then opened it after receiving permission from a male voice from inside.
The interior of the room was much brighter than the small room on the third floor. The windows were much larger, but it was the wood itself that was especially much lighter.
In the center of the room were set a gigantic desk. Behind it sat an old man in his sixties.
"Hello and welcome. My name is Rowen Kremn, master of the Avrel Adventurers Guild."
When the guild master and Lilianna's eyes met, the girl's heartbeat raced and a strange pressure made her uneasy. Quickly, drops of sweat trickled from her forehead. The master smiled at her.
'So, this is the strength of an SSS-rank adventurer. A strength so overwhelming that its very presence makes me dizzy. So overwhelming that the company had to invent a new rank with a dubious name... '
"I heard that you encountered an unfortunate incident on your last quest. Please explain."
Rowen invited them to sit down opposite him. Lilliana spoke up.
"Indeed. We accepted a quest about eliminating ten goblins in the hills of Havenpeace. Everything was going well until more and more goblins appeared. While at first, we were only facing groups of two goblins, we were soon forced to fight a group of five ones."
"We had managed to defeat two of them when suddenly one of the survivors let out a shrill cry. That's when the earth started to shake and many more goblins came out of the ground."
"From the ground, you say?"
"Yes, from the ground."
"This is strange. Never in history has there been a report that goblins were a species capable of living underground."
"I'm sorry, but I know for a fact what I saw."
"Don't worry, I believe you. I already have some reports here on the situation. But it looks like you were the only ones there at the time."
"Finally, your testimony will help us understand what happened. As compensation for this, I invite you to visit your assistant, she will pay you fifty thousand Astels each. This will allow you to strengthen your equipment."
"Thank you, sir. We'll put it to good use."
A slight smile appeared on the guild master's face.
"I don't doubt it. Well, I have a second favor to ask of you."
"Anything you want."
"I would like to invite you to join the scouting patrols in this area. You could fight goblins without worrying about the rest. Of course, you will be paid handsomely. Moreover, it will be beneficial for your progression. I'll also assign a guild scout to accompany you. Do you want to work for me? "
Lilliana thought for a while before answering.
"What do you think about that, Stella? In my opinion, we should accept. "
"I agree. "
Stella answered laconically, nodding slowly.
"Your friend seems quite shy. "
"Excuse her, usually she's not like this. It's just been a rough day. "
"Well, then the deal is accepted. Tomorrow, take a day off, you will begin patrols the following day."
The master stood up, indicating to the girls that it was time to leave.
They stood up and walked towards the door. But before they passed through it, they were called out one last time.
"Ah, and one last bit of advice. You should check your level, it must have increased a bit after all those fights. You're still young after all. You should change your sword too, Lilliana. That blade isn't made for fighting monsters which have corrosive blood."
Lilliana smiled at him, before turning away.
"Goodbye. "
...
"Delphes, did you see anything?"
"No, so far I haven't seen anything yet... Do you fear an invasion?"
"..."