Lance was slouching as he walked behind Verin. His friend has been reprimanding him the moment he freed himself from his beast friend. The incident was not intentional, and he regretted his actions big time. He does not wish for anyone to get uncomfortable with him, nor with any people. He is an adventurer and only desires for everyone's safety. Yet he himself still has a long way to go.
"You should be careful, you are bringing the guild's name. And you are a ranked person!" Verin is still throwing stones at Lance.
"I already told you," his voice cracked, but Verin knew he's good at forcing his voice to do it. He will not fall for it.
"You are the leader of this rank, how can you be so stupid?"
This time, Lance has had enough. Their whole walk towards the guild was just Verin chastising him, he wants his ears to rest. He groaned and straightened himself to walk faster and planned on leaving Verin behind while he's busy spitting words. He was just repeating himself anyways, he always does.
But to no luck, Verin still caught his friend trying to escape his scolding.
"Not so fast, bud."
Lance clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"You know this is a very reputable rank I'm trying to protect," Verin reminded him.
He nodded as a response.
"Drill it into your head, Vancouv."
Lance rolled his eyes on Verin before opening the double doors of the guild. He never liked admitting his family name, and with his best friend just casually bringing it up after an eternity of yapping, he felt his whole energy drained.
The two entered in the hopes of getting some quest as they are bored with weeks of vacant schedule. All they did was train and do escort quests commissioned by the nobles who would like to safely travel towards the borders of another country. They are looking for something more exciting than this.
When the two stepped inside the building, they could immediately feel the intense chill surrounding the room. Everyone stayed in one spot, eyes fixed at the stairs. Their murmurs vibrated through the walls, hatred is detectible in their eyes.
Verin followed their gaze and saw the girl with her perfectly white and neat robe, a priestess.
"What's going on here?" Lance asked as he scanned the room. It was weird for the adventurers not to focus on their beer and their boastings with their recent quests. They all are busy with something.
Lance looked at the stairs and saw a new face.
WAIT!
He slapped Verin's chest, "Verin, that's the girl I told you about."
The swordsman only looked at Lance and didn't react.
"Is she lost? She seems troubled." Lance blurted.
Verin sighed before slapping his face, he took a step away from his friend. He knows Lance is a smart person, but sometimes, he is too smart in reading a situation and becomes dumb.
The murmurs and whispers worsen as she is almost at the end of the stairs.
Verin studied this person's clothing, he took notice of the details of the clothes she's wearing. 'She must be from the sun temple.'
His eyes caught a shine from her fingers, he squinted his eyes and his brows drew closer. It was the very same ring he and Lance have.
The ring was given to them when they were promoted, and since his ring could get stuck when fighting, he asked permission to simply wear it as an earring.
Verin shakes his head to Lance, "I don't think she is, my friend."
His gaze never left her, he's too curious with this new girl who got the rank just after registering in the guild. He never heard anything of this happening, what could have possibly happened for them to give her such important rank? Is she really powerful?
"Whatever do you mean?" Lance peeked over his friend's shoulder and mimicked him watching her. He then tapped his shoulder and blocked his view, "you just reprimanded me about being inappropriate yet here you are doing it."
"I am not."
Lance made a face, "really? Is staring at a girl for too long appropriate?"
A blank stare from Verin is all he got as a response and he isn't happy. He wants his friend to taste his own medicine. But it amazes him, how can his virtuous friend act so unfitting right now? He is someone who minds his actions, but at this moment, he seems to have forgotten his well-maintained image.
"How come a priestess is wearing such a valuable ring?!" someone from the crowd shouted and it was followed with agreeing screams.
Lance threw away his curiosity over his friend and looked around to see who ever said that.
"She looks like a weakling too. Like she's never seen death!" another said and laughed. The others followed too.
The adventurers had gang up on the poor newbie, and this is not the image the guild wants the people to see. Normal people still come and go in the building to set some quests or personally hire someone to do their biddings.
"What's wrong with these people?" Lance asked but he was not answered.
People kept throwing hate towards the rookie and ridiculed her. Lance can no longer stand around and not do anything, he is a ruby rank and they must show respect to everyone.
They should stop being salty about this.
As he was about to yell to get their attention, another one from the crowd screamed, "Have you no shame? Bearing that ring with just a few moments after you registered?"
'What?' Lance's brows furrowed.
"You paid them, did you?"
Verin's eyes never left the girl, he's been observing her reactions. It's weird, how can she not get affected with their insults? She is acting like she is not inexperienced. What sorts of experiences did she go through to bear such cold eyes?
His pupils sank when her gaze diverted towards him; he felt the whole room drop its temperature.
She took the last step of the stairs and walked her way through the crowd, still having salty adventurers throw foul words at her. She trembled and formed her hands to fists; trying to calm herself, she bit her lower lip hard. She can't cause trouble, Chi cannot receive a letter about her misbehavior.
"Oi brat!" a tall and masculine guy stood looking down on Lithea, he had an abnormally large axe at hand, "let's battle."
He started laughing sinisterly, it echoed through her head.
Verin sighed before stomping his foot on the ground, getting everyone's attention. As a fellow ruby holder, he has the responsibility to shield his juniors.
He scoffed, "Challenging a girl for your benefit? How cowardly."
The large guy gritted his teeth, his nose let out a smoke as his anger rose with the sight of another ruby ranked adventurer. Worst, it was the best swordsman in the kingdom, Verin.
"You," his hands trembles in rage, "you think you're so mighty boasting a ruby rank?" he spat.
It irked Lithea at how these people see those who are ranked above them, they don't show respect and cannot accept that there are those who are superior to them. These types of people are what she hates the most.
Lithea positioned her foot back, ready to turn around to face the person and accept his challenge as he charged towards them. Seeing how the person who spoke for her had no intention of drawing his sword, and this could be ruled as self-defense, but to her surprise, an arrow was shot past her.
She turned to see the masculine guy pinned on the wall.
His shirt was perfectly caught by two arrows and mounted him on the wall, he kicked and screamed. His axe broke the guild's flooring when he dropped it during the attack.
All of a sudden, a sultry voice giggled out of nowhere.
Someone in the corner of the guild, with her leather suit, hugging her voluptuous body, and long cherry red, braided hair. The lady clapped with a gentle smile plastered on her face.
Lithea looked at the mysterious lady, 'who is this lady?'
"This is Lady Rose!" someone shouted.
"Lady Rose?" the people murmured.
"Oh that ruby ranked, rose mage?!"
The lady sighed and shook her head, 'what the fuck are these morons talking about?'
"I heard she single handedly took care of that robbery happening in one of the pawnshops in the capital!"
"Was it the one who had ten guys conspiring to steal those jewelries?"
"Oh yes, yes, I've heard of it too!"
She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair before standing up, "now, now."
Everyone in the room looked at her with awe, she's a tall girl with a perfect body. Her presence makes everyone go weak, she held her head high as her confidence is oozing. With one look, a person can instantly tell she's not someone to mess with.
The redhead glanced at the pinned troublemaker and made her way towards him. She summoned her lasso with sharp thorns.
She sighed before swinging her lasso, freeing the pinned buff.
Everyone gasped.
She shook her head again, letting know her disapproval. Such commotion is a disgrace towards the guild she has high regards with.
"My, my, my," she whipped her lasso and it folded in her hands, the thorns disappeared in her hand.
Everyone's mouth hangs open at her sight, she walked towards Lithea and smiled.
She took Lithea's chin and rubbed her cheek. The priestess's disturbed reaction was written all over her face, "All of this commotion just for one cute little girl."
The mage giggled, and her giggles turned into a laugh. This sultry laugh made everyone gulp their saliva. She's known for being notorious with her enemies and she is also known for being in love with the guild.
She grew up under the shelter of this organization, she did everything to repay them and she's been proving to them her loyalty and gratefulness every day without fail. The day she was abandoned by her family, this is all she has. But that is not all, they did not only disrespected the guild and everyone present, they also disrespected her rank.
Being in the rank does not excuse you from all kinds of insults and inappropriate situations, but having to witness it done to someone new, she cannot let them go without a warning. If it is a must, having them take a peek of their power is all it would take to shut them up.
"You're calling yourselves men?"
After saying those words, she summoned more mana in her lasso and it grew bigger, its thorns are also big enough to be compared with her own pinky finger.
Its tip shines, indicating how sharp it is.
"My lady?" an onlooker stammered.
She whipped her lasso here and there and when she settled her lasso, tables and benches were in pieces.
"Now, tell me." She hopped on a table that she hasn't touched, "say it to my face that ruby adventurers are unworthy of being one!"
In the eyes of the cowardly adventurers, her eyes glowed red. They felt like there's a lion backing her.
Everyone was too scared to speak and react.
The leathered woman scoffed and hopped down to meet the new ruby person but as her feet met the floor, a pair of knives landed near her boots.
Her brows twitched and she tilted her head.
The atmosphere inside the guild seemed to darken, an eerie high pitched laugh echoed throughout the room. An illusion of having thousands of ghosts from that laugh only was painted at the back of the mind of everyone present.
"Say, say," everyone looked up, a person was comfortably swinging on the chandelier, smiling at them with all of his teeth shown. It seems to be ripping his whole cheek at how wide his smile is, "play with me?"
His eerie giggles echoed again throughout the room.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"