"Hey! Come here! Sit with me!" shouted a woman to me.
I guess the people here are all members of the Royal Guild, and this woman seems very friendly, so I walk towards her and sit next to her.
"Your name is Oliver, right? Do you live here with Jenny? What have you been up to?" the woman asked.
"Uh, so which question should I answer first?" I asked.
"HAHAHAHA, forgive me, it's my habit to suddenly speak out when I meet someone who catches my attention," the woman replied.
"My name is Chatter Bella, you can call me Bella."
Seems like she's the type of woman I should avoid because since I accepted her invitation to sit next to her, she keeps talking about anything, even things I don't understand. She's truly chatty.
"So, do you already have a girlfriend-"
"Sorry, if I may ask, why is everyone gathering here?" I asked Bella.
"We are deciding who will be chosen to take on the new job," said a man who suddenly appeared and sat next to Bella, holding a drink.
"Brother! Oliver asked me, why are you the one answering!" Bella said to the man.
"Because I noticed that you have been the one talking all along, even Oliver hasn't said a word," the man said.
"Oh, right, let me introduce myself! My name is Liam, I am Bella's brother!" the man said to me.
"Nice to meet you, Liam! I'm Oliver," I replied.
"Hey, how about we become a team?" Liam said to me.
"A team?"
"Yes! Although they say this job can't be done by just anyone, I think we can be a strong enough team," Liam said.
"Why are you so sure? I still don't even know how to use Soul Resonance until now," I answered Liam.
"Well, I know you haven't been able to use Soul Resonance yet, but yesterday you managed to run around the kingdom's walls, didn't you?" Liam asked.
"Yeah? And then?" I replied, full of questions.
"Until now, I've never heard of anyone being able to run around the kingdom's walls in one day, even for people like us who can use Soul Resonance, it usually takes around 3-4 days to run around it," Liam explained.
"That's impossible, you're exaggerating," I said.
"No, Oliv! Brother is serious," Bella replied.
"Since the beginning, while you were living here, we all have been observing your progress, Oliv. Do you think we don't care about our comrades?" Bella said to me.
Suddenly, I saw Reid walking towards us.
"I'm in too!" Reid said.
"How about me? Am I still in the slot, Liam?" Reid asked Liam.
"Well, I don't mind," Liam answered.
"Okay! Then it's decided!" Reid said enthusiastically.
I saw Reid raise both his hands, trying to get the attention of everyone in the bar.
"Jenny! Let the four of us go there!" Reid shouted to Jenny, pointing at us as a team.
"The request is denied," Jenny quickly replied.
"What? Why?" Reid asked, walking towards the stage as if he didn't accept Jenny's decision.
"You know very well that this kid can't fight. Not to mention, Reid, this kid can't even use Soul Resonance," Jenny explained.
"But we are here, Liam and Bella will protect him. Besides, if this kid is not given the experience, he won't develop," Reid replied.
"I still won't allow it. I told you this kid won't survive," Jenny said.
"Are you doubting this kid's strength, Jen?" Reid asked Jenny.
"No, I'm just being realistic. I already told you that Oliver can't use his powers yet, and he doesn't know how to fight. Bringing him along on this job is like telling him to free fall into a pit to his death," Jenny explained.
"But I think there's nothing wrong with giving him firsthand experience. Honestly, I feel a bit sorry seeing a young man with this talent ending up just washing your dishes and dirty glasses," Reid said with a slightly provocative tone towards Jenny.
"Enough, Reid. Don't say things like that. You're only making the situation more complicated," Liam said to Reid.
"SO WHAT DO YOU WANT, HUH? YOU WANT TO FIGHT HERE?!!!" Jenny shouted at Reid.
The atmosphere became even more tense as Jenny transformed into a horned-winged demon, and Reid pulled out his gun. They both seemed ready to fight each other.
The tense atmosphere caused everyone in the room to stand up from their seats and try to intervene, so that the pointless fight could be prevented. They continued arguing to decide whether or not I would be included in this job.
"STOP!!!"
The shout instantly broke the commotion in the room. Everyone's gaze, including Jenny's and Reid's, shifted and focused on a man who had just entered through the bar's entrance.
"Oh my, it's been 2 years since I haven't come back, and this place is still lively, huh?" the man said as he walked towards the stage, approaching Jenny and Reid.
"Adrian? What are you doing here? What about the request from King Vorgoth?" Jenny asked, surprised by the presence of the man.
"I've already settled it 6 months ago. By the way, what are all of you arguing about? And why did you transform? Do you want to kill Reid?" the man asked Jenny.
From my seat at the back, I saw the man advising the two of them. Jenny could only bow her head like a scolded child, and Reid also holstered his gun and walked back towards us.
"Who is he?" I asked Liam.
"Who? The man who just came in?" Liam asked.
"Yes."
"That's Adrian, one of the high-ranking members of this guild," Liam answered.
"So, he has power equivalent to Jenny and Victor?" I asked.
"No, their power is on a different level, none of us here knows what their true strength is like, but among everyone in this room, they are the strongest," Liam explained.
After listening to Liam's explanation, I became curious about Adrian. If he is truly powerful, why isn't he the leader instead of Jenny? For a moment, I glanced at Adrian conversing with Jenny on the stage. But when I blinked, Adrian was no longer there.
"So, you're the one named Oliver?" a voice sounded behind my ear, and when I turned around, I saw Adrian standing right behind me. I was so surprised that I fell backward from my chair.
"No need to be startled like that, I'm not a ghost," Adrian said with a grin, extending his hand to me.
I held his hand and stood up. As I got up, he observed me from head to toe, his way of looking at me made me quite uncomfortable.
"Hey, how about you accompany me instead?" Adrian asked me.
"Accompany? Accompany for what?" I asked.
"HEEEY JENNY! LET OLIVER AND ME TAKE CARE OF IT!" Adrian shouted to Jenny.
"Don't decide so arbitrarily, you just arrived," Jenny said as she walked towards the four of us.
"Don't worry, this kid won't die, I can guarantee it," Adrian replied.
"I know, but what about him?" Jenny asked, then looked at me with a concerned expression.
"It's fine, don't worry, I don't have anything else to do either," Adrian said.
"So, what do you think? Do you want to join Adrian?" Jenny asked me.
"Hold on! What are we joining? What are we talking about?" I asked both of them.
Then Jenny explained to me and Adrian that the paper with the code that I found on the job bulletin board yesterday, after being examined by Victor, turned out to be an ancient language of the Elf race. It was a request to eliminate the Night Phantoms union.
The Night Phantoms union itself is one of the unions under the umbrella of the Chaos Legion, all of its members being of the Dark Elf race. The Elf and Dark Elf races have been at war long before the Chaos Legion was formed. In other words, this is a mission to eradicate the Dark Elves for the glory of Aetheria and the Elf race.
"Is it okay if I join? I don't know how to fight," I asked.
"I will teach you how to fight," Adrian answered.
"But I can't use Soul Resonance either," I said.
"I will teach you until you can master it."
"Are you serious? Just the two of us? Are you really confident in your abilities?" I asked.