In a very distant place, far away from the desolate ruins where Leon currently operated, a couple of people were waiting around a table in a busy hall, drinking and chatting amongst themselves. A green haired man approached the table, and the two seated quickly noticed him.
"Adrian, did you manage to get a good mission again?" One of the people seated at the table, an Elf, turned to the green haired man. He had dark skin that was covered in white tattoos, and bottle green eyes. He was named Malaki.
"Yeah, I finally managed to get my hands on that ruin exploration mission that we have had our eyes on for a while now." Adrian grinned at the two of them. The third person, a girl with yellow hair raised her bright blue eyes to meet Adrian's.
"Are you sure it is safe? Plus, it is so far away." She pouted cutely and Adrian reached over to pinch her cheek. Her name was Bella.
"Don't worry," Adrian laughed, "It is just a D rank area, and our party is ranked as C, so I'm sure we can take care of it." He reassured her and patted her head. The three of them were mercenaries, or adventurers, and they were a party. Each one of them had strength equivalent to a High D rank, so their combined strength raised the overall rank of their party to Low C rank.
Adrian then spread open a map across the table, before pointing at the location of their mission. His index finger tapped on the area they were in, which was in the middle of a large city that was depicted, Arnox, the capital of the Malseze Kingdom. He then dragged his finger across the map to a smaller spot that had been marked out at the edge of the border of the Malseze Kingdom.
"This is our target of exploration, a small town that was the location of a battle ten years ago during the Great Shift. It is not too large, and the strongest creatures there should be around D rank. Maybe a couple of Low C rank creatures if we are unlucky. But Betty assured me that we won't run into trouble there." Adrian explained.
Malaki and Bella nodded their heads. They decided to listen to Adrian, as he was the party leader, and they trusted him.
"When do we set off?" Malaki asked.
"How does tomorrow sound? We can use the rest of today to buy consumables and other things that can help us on the journey." Adrian replied.
"Sounds good." Bella nodded and stood up. She reached behind her and picked up her mage staff that was leaning against the wall. The staff was a simple metal rod that was capped with a round pattered sphere that held a mana crystal. Two small wings extended from the sides of the sphere, making it have a 'holy' look.
Bella was a healer who also specialized in water and wind magic, although she placed greater emphasis on healing. A satchel hung from her left side that contained a few consumables that helped with her casting and mana regeneration.
Malaki stood up beside her and reached for his sword and shield that he had put to the side. He quickly picked them up and turned to look at Aiden who had also picked up his twin swords.
"Let's go." They nodded and left the mercenary hall together.
"Where to first?" Bella asked the moment they left the hall.
"We start with potions. We need a lot of them. Healing potions, mana recovery potions, buff potions and things like that. After that, we can go ahead and buy some rations, spices, and other things for food. Then we can head to the city stable to rent a carriage or some horses." Adrian replied as they walked.
The three spoke while walking, and before long, they reached the commercial district of the city that was specifically catered to the needs of mercenaries. A lot of stalls were open that displayed pieces of equipment, spell books, and other things.
Although Bella showed excited and curious looks to the various wares on display, none of them stopped. They already had a destination in mind. Before long, they arrived before a medium sized shop that had a metal plaque hanging from the front. The plaque read 'Benny's Store'. It was a rather bland name, but the owner was not bothered to think up an epic sounding name.
Ding!
A little bell rang above the door as it was opened, and a head popped out from behind the counter. A boyish face with a head of brown hair and eyes of red and blue appeared. Upon spotting the group of three, a wide smile appeared on his face.
"Adrian! Bella! Malaki! My three buddies!" The young man exclaimed and walked around the counter. He was of average height, and his boyish looks gave him an unprecedented air of youth. This young man was Benny, and he was in his late twenties, much older than the twenty year olds that stood before him.
"What brings you three to my humble store?" He asked amiably.
"Same as usual, we're here to buy consumables and stuff like that." Adrian smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. Benny had always been on friendly terms with their party, and he was really grateful for that.
"Oh?" Benny made an 'o' shape with his mouth and rubbed his chin. "If I recall correctly, you were here a few days ago. Are you going on a long journey?" The older man immediately guessed their actions. He had dealt with adventurers for a long time now and understood all these little signs.
"Yeah. We won't be back for a couple of months at the very least. So we need to stock up on potions and rations." Bella nodded her head along with Adrian's words as he spoke, her eyes already looking around for potions.
Benny's store had everything, ranging from potions to gears, to talismans and spell books. Everything a mercenary could need was present there.
"I see. Well, I have a few things for ya. Come with me." Benny waved for them to follow him and began leading them through his store. He handed them a basket and along the way, he put some various high quality potions in the basket for them.
"These are all my best potions. You know I love your little group so I won't skimp on quality. Ah, ah!" As he was talking, he suddenly paused and gasped as if he remembered something. "I have something else for ya!" He quickly led them to another section of the store.
There, inside a show glass was a row of a dozen bird shaped, white talismans. He brought out three of them and gave the three mercenaries.
"As my friends, I am gifting these to you. They are protective talismans, and help to ward off unholy energy and beings. Although they are not too strong, as they are just prototypes. They can come in handy in your journey. Treasure them." He told them sternly.
"We will, Benny. How much is this worth?" Adrian was shocked.
"Oh, no no no. Take this as a gift. And make sure you come back in one piece, okay?" Benny waved his hands.
"Thank you." They were all grateful. They paid for everything else at a discount before being shooed off by Benny.
After shooing them off, Benny exhaled a deep breath and returned to his seat behind the counter. He used his hand to prop up his head while a small smile played on his lips.